Preview: Juventus vs Sassuolo - prediction, team news, lineups

Resuming their quest for a crucial top-four finish, Serie A giants Juventus will host mid-table Sassuolo on Saturday evening.

Despite posting back-to-back wins, Juve still sit outside the Champions League places, while their visitors have just suffered consecutive defeats.

Match preview

Only three points separate three teams competing for one place in next season's Champions League, with nine games of the Serie A season remaining - Juventus, Roma and Como.

Scudetto holders Napoli appear poised to join both Milan clubs at Europe's top table, leaving Juve in a scramble to secure their spot and avoid the financial costs of failure.

The Bianconeri beat Udinese last week, thanks to a first-half strike from loan signing Jeremie Boga, while Como conquered Roma; that left the Lariani with a one-point lead over Juve.

Now facing a home fixture against more mid-table opposition, Luciano Spalletti's side will seek a third straight victory over Sassuolo.

Following a 3-0 result in January's reverse fixture, Juventus have claimed maximum points from the last two meetings, scoring six goals without reply.

Already sitting fourth on the all-time list, another success would also see Spalletti become just the fourth coach to reach 300 Serie A wins - he has 299 from 579 top-flight matches so far.

Only one of Sassuolo's four Serie A victories against Juventus has occurred in Turin, and they have failed to keep a clean sheet at the Allianz Stadium in 11 previous attempts, conceding an average of 2.7 goals per game.

It is fair to say that history will not be on the Neroverdi's side this weekend, while recent form is also a concern for head coach Fabio Grosso.

After his side lost to a late goal against Lazio, they were beaten by Bologna in an Emilian derby last time out, dropping down to 10th place as a result.

Fluctuating between wins and defeats, Sassuolo have not drawn any of their last 11 league matches, but they still sit safely in mid-table and will avoid a quick return to Serie B.

Promoted back to Italy's top tier last year, Grosso and co are surpassing even their own expectations, so defeating Juve for just the fifth time ever would be a big bonus.

Juventus Serie A form:

D L L D W W

Juventus form (all competitions):

L L W D W W

Sassuolo Serie A form:

L W W W L L

Team News

Only Emil Holm is unavailable for Juventus, as forward pair Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik are both back in the fold after spending several months on the sidelines.

Neither is yet fit enough to feature up front, so in-demand Jonathan David will start or Kenan Yildiz could continue as a false nine.

With his pass for Boga's goal against Udinese, the latter made it 10 goals and 10 assists for the season, when including the Club World Cup.

Meanwhile, one-time Juve target Domenico Berardi should join Armand Lauriente and Andrea Pinamonti in Sassuolo's familiar front three - the trio have 18 league goals between them this term.

Ex-Juventus defender Tarik Muharemovic leads the Neroverdi's back line, ahead of goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, who will hope to help Kosovo reach their first World Cup later this month.

Once again, Alieu Fadera, Daniel Boloca and long-term absentee Fali Cande are ruled out by injury.

Juventus possible starting lineup:

Perin; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso; Thuram, Locatelli; Conceicao, McKennie, Boga; Yildiz

Sassuolo possible starting lineup:

Muric; Walukiewicz, Muharemovic, Idzes, Garcia; Kone, Matic, Thorstvedt; Berardi, Pinamonti, Lauriente

We say: Juventus 2-1 Sassuolo

With just one competition to focus on - and some key players returning to fitness - Juventus now look strong candidates to snatch fourth place in Serie A.

Though they always pose a threat, Sassuolo have relatively little to play for, so the home side should help their boss celebrate his 300th league win.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.