Aiming to continue their ascent of the Serie A standings, Juventus hope to pick up where they left off before the break, as they visit Cremonese on Wednesday.
Calcio's return after nearly two months away sees the Turin giants targeting a seventh straight league victory, while their hosts are yet to win since returning to the top flight and sit six points adrift of safety.
Match preview
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Despite enduring a turbulent autumn period, when they stumbled in domestic competition and slid ignominiously out of the Champions League, Juventus ended their competitive campaign for 2022 on a high, and dreams of a Scudetto challenge are even back on the agenda heading into the new year.
Having finished with a flourish before Qatar 2022 intervened, Juve's 3-0 success against fellow top-four contenders Lazio in November was their sixth on the spin in Serie A; hauling them up to third in the standings at the close of the season's first phase.
Massimiliano Allegri's men still have a 10-point deficit to make up to runaway leaders Napoli, though reigning champions Milan are a more manageable two points ahead in second place.
Juventus have put together such a fine fun of form without conceding a single goal in the process, and the last time they registered more clean-sheet wins consecutively was back in 2018, during Allegri's super-successful first reign at the club.
Since then, his comeback has hardly gone to plan, as the 36-time Italian champions have trailed behind the Milan teams in Serie A, and the recent resignation of his supporters on the board - including chairman Andrea Agnelli and vice-chair Pavel Nedved - has destabilised things even further.
Amid an investigation into alleged financial irregularities among the hierarchy, Juve's squad - who beat Arsenal and Rijeka before drawing with Standard Liege in a series of mid-season friendlies - now return to the fray; getting 2023 up and running in Cremona, where they have never lost before in Serie A.
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Not only have Juventus won their last three away matches by the same 1-0 scoreline - versus Verona, Lecce and city rivals Torino - their hosts on Wednesday are yet to win anywhere in the league this season and have never before defeated the Old Lady in Italy's top flight.
Each of the last three teams without a win after 15 Serie A games ultimately finished last and were relegated, so coach Massimiliano Alvini - who has remarkably been spared the sack - has his work cut out to defy such precedent in the second part of the season.
His side occupy 18th spot in the standings, having finally returned to Calcio's top tier after more than two decades away, with fellow strugglers Sampdoria and Hellas Verona keeping them company in a somewhat detached bottom three.
With seven draws from their fixtures so far, Cremonese are six points behind 17th-placed Spezia, and it has been an inability to score goals which has seen them take a single point several times when three were perhaps within range.
The Grigiorossi broke up in November having managed just two goals in their last five league matches - and they have failed to score at Stadio Giovanni Zini in their last three. Despite having home advantage in midweek, then, it will take a dramatic new year revival to take down resurgent Juve.
Team News
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As Argentinian duo Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes have only just returned from their post-World Cup celebrations, neither will be considered for selection on Wednesday, and several other players are absent for Juventus.
Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic is sidelined by a groin problem and could be unavailable for the next fortnight, captain Leonardo Bonucci misses out due to an adductor injury, and Paul Pogba is still some distance from returning to full training. Despite not featuring in the final warm-up friendly against Standard Liege, though, Federico Chiesa is set to be involved.
Moise Kean, who finished with three goals in his last two games before the break - bagging a brace against Lazio after scoring the winner versus Verona - will deputise for Vlahovic up front in a probable 3-5-2, partnered by Arkadiusz Milik. In Bonucci's absence, Danilo, Bremer and Alex Sandro could start in an all-Brazilian back three.
Meanwhile, Cremonese - who lost their last competitive match 2-0 to Empoli and were beaten by Udinese in their final friendly of 2022 - will be without veteran centre-back Vlad Chiriches in midweek, so Matteo Bianchetti could join Jack Hendry at the heart of the hosts' defence. Alex Ferrari is expected to confirm his move from Sampdoria soon, but will not arrive in time.
Likely moving in the opposite direction, midfielder Gonzalo Escalante is being targeted by several Spanish teams and was left out of the defeat to Udinese.
Nigerian strikers Cyriel Dessers (two) and David Okereke (three) are expected to feature up front for the Grigiorossi, in spite of their modest goal tallies so far this term.
Cremonese possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Sernicola, Hendry, Bianchetti, Valeri; Meite, Castagnetti, Pickel; Buonaiuto; Okereke, Dessers
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Danilo, Bremer, Sandro; Soule, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Kean, Milik
We say: Cremonese 0-2 Juventus
Juventus last conceded a league goal at the start of October, away to Milan, so on their return to Lombardy this week they will expect to handily take care of business against a toothless Cremonese side. Even with some important players missing, the Bianconeri are more than capable of continuing their streaks of wins and clean sheets.
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Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
