Both still in contention for an unlikely Serie A title, Juventus and Atalanta BC will fight for victory in Turin on Sunday evening.
Juve have revived their faint Scudetto hopes with five straight league wins, but La Dea’s dismal start to 2025 continued last week – while Inter Milan and Napoli lead the way, neither can be entirely ruled out.
Match preview
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Partly due to the faltering form of previous league leaders Napoli, a resurgent Juventus are back on the fringes of this year’s Scudetto battle, having pulled within six points of first-placed Inter.
Italy’s top four are closely locked together with 11 games remaining, and Juve at least hope to secure a Champions League return after slumping out of this term’s competition in the playoffs.
Thiago Motta is still under pressure, though, as his side also exited the Coppa Italia at home to Serie A strugglers Empoli last week, crashing out via a penalty shootout defeat in the quarter-finals.
Yet, they then beat Hellas Verona 2-0, as in-form midfielder Khephren Thuram continued his hot streak: following his opening strike on Monday, the Frenchman has already set a new personal best for goal involvements in one league season (seven so far – three goals and four assists).
That made it five Serie A wins on the spin for Motta’s men, and the last time Juventus achieved at least six consecutive top-flight victories was at the very start of 2023.
They can now pull level on 55 points with Atalanta by extending that success streak, and precedent suggests they can at least avoid defeat: the Bianconeri have lost only two of their last 40 league games against their Lombardy counterparts – both in 2021.
Even so, their last Serie A home win over this week’s visitors was back in early 2018; since then, there have been five draws and one win for La Dea.
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Including a 1-1 result in January’s reverse fixture, when Mateo Retegui scored the hosts’ equaliser, the last three league meetings between Juventus and Atalanta have ended all square.
In fact, since Gian Piero Gasperini arrived in Bergamo nearly nine years ago, this match-up has produced the most Serie A draws: 11 in 17 matches.
The Nerazzurri come into the clubs’ latest clash still suffering the fallout from their own dismal Champions League defeat, after which Gasperini went to war with star man Ademola Lookman and suggested he will not extend a contract that expires next year.
This week, ‘Gasp’ will join Roma’s Nils Liedholm with the second-most games in charge of a single Italian top-flight team (332), leaving only Juve legend Giovanni Trapattoni (402) ahead of them.
His future is uncertain, though, and after Teun Koopmeiners left the club for Turin last summer, Atalanta are braced for several more players to be picked off in the summer – most notably, Lookman.
Perhaps facing the end of an era, they will hope to sign off in style by claiming La Dea’s first-ever Scudetto, but results must quickly improve.
Though they have kept clean sheets in four consecutive Serie A matches for the first time since 2000, the Bergamaschi have twice drawn at home to relegation-threatened sides in recent weeks.
Last time out, they were left frustrated by Venezia, costing them chance to draw level with Inter; as a tough run-in lies ahead of them, any more slip-ups could prove fatal.
Team News
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Juventus coach Thiago Motta – once a player under Gian Piero Gasperini at Genoa – will take on his former boss without injured quartet Francisco Conceicao, Renato Veiga, Nicolo Savona and Douglas Luiz.
While Pierre Kalulu is now available after spending several weeks on the sidelines, his centre-back partner Federico Gatti has been training separately due to a thigh strain and may miss out. Lloyd Kelly could therefore keep his place.
Recently preferred to Dusan Vlahovic up front, Randal Kolo Muani was named February’s Serie A ‘Player of the Month’; only Vlahovic has been involved in more league goals for Juve than Kolo Muani’s compatriot Khephren Thuram this season.
As well as long-term absentees Gianluca Scamacca, Odilon Kossounou and Giorgio Scalvini, Atalanta will be without injured defender Stefan Posch this week.
Unless Swedish centre-back Isak Hien can pass a late fitness test, veteran club captain Rafael Toloi could be brought in – or Marten de Roon may even drop back from midfield.
In attack, Charles De Ketelaere and Ademola Lookman should support Capocannoniere rankings leader Mateo Retegui – in the current campaign, the latter pair have racked up 33 league goals between them.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Weah, Kalulu, Kelly, Cambiaso; Thuram, Locatelli; Gonzalez, McKennie, Yildiz; Kolo Muani
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Toloi, Djimsiti, Kolasinac; Bellanova, De Roon, Ederson, Zappacosta; De Ketelaere, Lookman; Retegui
We say: Juventus 2-1 Atalanta BC
Atalanta have scored the most goals from open play in Serie A this season (45), while Juventus have conceded the fewest – just 12 – so a fascinating contest awaits.
Juve’s form is improving, while La Dea’s continues to decline, so the hosts are set to win and draw level on points.
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