30 April 2022
The objectives for the remainder of the season were set and are close to being met. Objective number one was qualification to the Coppa Italia final. Achieved.
Objective number two, not in order of importance, was qualification to the Champions League next season. Although not achieved yet, mathematical confirmation is imminent as long as the team maintains its momentum.
The hard-fought comeback win over Sassuolo on Monday was a product of the level of intensity and concentration of the team as a whole, able to react to falling behind, and although by no means a dominant display, it still brought home the three points on offer.
The importance of those three points was already known due to Juve’s nearest challengers for fourth place, Roma, Lazio and Fiorentina, all losing before the Bianconeri’s Monday night showdown at the Mapei Stadium.
Massimiliano Allegri and his players have now extended their advantage over Roma to eight points, to 10 over Lazio and Fiorentina. Victory this weekend, which would leave only nine points up for grabs, would automatically eliminate the latter two teams from the race for a place in the top four, leaving only the Giallorossi to contend with, at a distance of eight points.
Therefore, this Sunday at 12.30, the penultimate home fixture of the season, is of no little importance.
Juve’s May Day opponents are Venezia, who have slid down the table since the first meeting between the two teams. The 1-1 draw in December at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium maintained the Venetians in 16th place, at an apparently safe distance from the drop zone.
Since sharing the points with the Bianconeri, Venezia have collected only a further six points, three from their only win in 2022 at Torino in mid-February. A run of eight consecutive defeats, the worst in club history in Serie A, has seen the team spiral to bottom place in the standings, and in midweek prompted a drastic turn of events on the bench, with the dismissal of Paolo Zanetti.
Replacing the tactician that led the team back into the top flight after a 19-year absence is Andrea Soncin, promoted from coach of the Under-23. Coincidentally, the 43-year-old former striker also made his senior debut in Serie A against Juventus, and leads his team to a ground that has never rewarded the team from Venice with anything more than a draw.
I have to thank the club for this great opportunity, which, although it has come at a complicated moment, I am convinced gives us a chance to change the course of events. Andrea Soncin, Caretaker Coach, Venezia
For more facts and figures on Venezia, click here.
Juventus have won 10 of their 12 home games against Venezia in Serie A, scoring an average of 2.4 goals per game. Nine of the 10 home wins have arrived in succession, and with one more success for Juve would make Venezia the third team from the Veneto region to lose 10 matches in a row at the Bianconeri after Hellas Verona, from 1989 to 2019, and Vicenza, from 1959 to 1973.
Click here to delve into the details of the previous meetings between Juventus and Venezia.
Juventus last hosted Venezia at the start of the 2001/02 season. Then it was the opening fixture of the campaign in the heat of a Torinese August. Now deep into the business end of the 2021/22 season, any warmth generated by the sun would be welcomed by the players, whose muscles are straining under the fatigue of a strenuous campaign.
Mattia De Sciglio has joined the waiting list outside of the treatment room. Juan Cuadrado and Manuel Locatelli remain absent for the Matchday 35 fixture, and although Weston McKennie continues to make progress, the US international is still some way from returning to competitive football. The fitness of fellow midfielder Arthur has improved, which leaves a hint of optimism that he could be involved this weekend.
Leonardo Bonucci, meanwhile, would love a run out on the day he celebrates his 35th birthday. Only Allegri knows who'll start in tomorrow's lunchtime kick off, so the final word is left to the coach.
