05 March 2022
After snatching victory in the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa in dramatic style on Wednesday in Florence, Juventus return to league action on Sunday. Spezia arrive at the Allianz Stadium with Juve looking to make it four wins out of four against the side from Liguria.
It was 22 September, 2021 when Spezia and Juventus last met. That match played in the late-summer heat was the first midweek action of the season, and the Match Day 5 meeting with its five goals gave Juventus a foothold in their Serie A season.
Four games without victory had left the Bianconeri with just two points on the board and although Moise Kean struck early at the Picco stadium, the home side were leading with an hour played after goals on either side of the half time whistle.
Juventus did not wilt, however, and turned the situation around with two goals in six minutes. Federico Chiesa and Matthijs De Ligt were the scorers but it was the response from all the players on the pitch - united as a team - that made the difference.
The Juventus DNA had come to the fore.
The first victory of the season marked a turning point. Only Inter have collected as many as the 48 points Juve have racked up in the 23 league matches since that game at Spezia.
Now holding down fourth place, Juventus know that Atalanta, three points behind but with a game in hand, are still very much in the chase for a coveted top-four finish.
Juve’s attention is focused on maintaining the advantage over those in pursuit for Champions League qualification next season because, although the Milanese clubs dropped further points last weekend, Massimiliano Allegri is adamant that the eight-point gap between the league leaders is unbridgeable at this stage of the season.
Despite the extent of the team’s injury woes, Juventus must continue to put points on the table to keep their rivals at bay.
Leonardo Bonucci and Mattia De Sciglio have joined the list of those unavailable, but Daniele Rugani and Federico Bernardeschi have all recovered from their recent injuries and have been called up to bolster the squad for Sunday’s encounter against a team more than capable of pulling off a surprise against Italy’s top teams.
Thiago Motta received the Serie A Coach of the Month award in January after an impressive run of results by his side. In fact, before setting off on a three-match winning streak, Spezia had collected all three points from the Diego Maradona stadium in the final matchday before the winter break.
That win at Napoli was only the third success in 15 games and the boost to confidence was such that, despite losing to Verona when Serie A resumed in 2022, Spezia won all of the following three outings, including a 2-1 success at San Siro against Milan.
However, from three wins in a row in January to three defeats in a row in February, which have thrust the club back in the thick of the relegation battle.
Spezia are one of three teams on 26 points, only four points separate them from third-from-bottom Venezia.
Last weekend’s defeat at Roma from a 99th minute penalty has had repercussions not only in terms of morale but also of the playing staff available for the trip to Turin. Kelvin Amian was sent off in the first half against the Giallorossi, and a late second-half booking for Jakub Kiwior, leaves Thiago Motta without two key players.
Once again available after serving a one-game ban of his own is Rey Manaj, the striker that has scored two of his team’s last four goals.
On only their second trip to the Allianz Stadium, the team from Liguria is seeking its first goal in Serie A away to Juve. Even a penalty award in the 90th minute was not enough for Spezia to find a consolation goal on their first visit, in March 2021. Wojciech Szczesny saved Andrey Galabinov’s spot kick to ensure a clean sheet for the Polish shot-stopper after Alvaro Morata had scored the first of Juve’s three goals.
Both the Bianconeri players are in line to appear also in this season’s fixture, and both would happily welcome the same result.
