Lurching from one disaster to another this season, Juventus arrive home from European humiliation to face city rivals Torino in Saturday's Derby della Mole.
The latest Turin derby - a fixture first played in 1907 - pits together sides separated by only two points and two places in the Serie A standings, and Juve's current crisis opens an opportunity for Il Toro to overtake them.
Match preview
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Always a sign of discontent at any Serie A club, Juventus players were consigned to a training retreat - or 'ritiro' - ahead of this week's derby, after the latest in a long line of failures saw the Old Lady humbled by Champions League minnows Maccabi Haifa.
The Israeli side impressed despite defeat in Turin just a week earlier, but had barely scored a goal or registered any points in most of their previous matches at Europe's elite level, and Juve's 2-0 defeat at Sammy Ofer Stadium heaped further scorn on beleaguered coach Max Allegri.
Juventus have now lost five of their last eight outings in all competitions and are perilously placed in Group H; trailing both Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain by five points in the table.
Back at home things are barely better for the fallen giants, as they sat eighth after the first nine rounds of the Serie A campaign - already 10 points adrift of relentless leaders Napoli. That represents the club's worst return at this stage for seven years, though back then they subsequently embarked on a 15-game winning streak - started by victory over Torino.
Given their sorry state now, the odds of the Bianconeri repeating such a feat are precipitous, and they make the short trip to Stadio Olimpico Grande having failed to win any of their last six away games in the Italian top flight.
They have, though, lost just one of their last 32 league encounters with their city rivals - coming out on top 23 times - and remain unbeaten against Il Toro since 2015.
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Though they managed to pull off a 1-1 draw in the most recent Derby della Mole, Torino's last clean sheet against Juventus in Serie A was way back in 2008, and over the intervening period they have conceded 40 times in 22 meetings.
Previously beaten by a ruthless Napoli team sweeping all before them this season, Ivan Juric's current side were frustrated to see their run without a win prolonged to four league games last weekend, after they were held by struggling Empoli.
Indeed, trailing to Mattia Destro's acrobatic strike heading into the final minute of the 90, the Granata were indebted to Sasa Lukic for saving their skins and at least adding a point to their Serie A tally, which stands at 11 from nine matches - only two behind Juve.
However, Torino have now registered just two wins from their last 12 home fixtures and have even failed to score in five of their last eight.
As a result, they remain within the top half of the table by only a single point, and a promising start to the 2022-23 season is being undermined by a lack of penalty-area prowess, for all their admirable build-up play.
Set to face surprise package Udinese and champions Milan after tackling Citadella in the Coppa Italia next week, the pressure will be on Juric's men to seize victory against ailing opponents on Saturday, but overcoming the psychological hurdle that so clearly stands over the Derby di Torino may prove the toughest test of all.
Team News
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After Juventus welcomed back Angel Di Maria in midweek, following a Serie A suspension that kept him out of games against Bologna and Milan, the Argentina international was withdrawn in Haifa with a hamstring injury that now rules him out until November.
He will therefore be back in time for the World Cup, and so should long-term absentee Paul Pogba, but the French midfielder misses out again this week, alongside Federico Chiesa, who is close to returning from a cruciate ligament rupture suffered in January.
Mattia De Sciglio is also ruled out of the derby by a thigh problem, so Alex Sandro may continue at left-back, or Filip Kostic could be used as a wing-back if Max Allegri opts for a 3-5-2 formation.
Such a move would see either Moise Kean or Arkadiusz Milik brought into the starting XI in partnership with Dusan Vlahovic, who has scored only one goal against Torino in eight previous matches.
Meanwhile, the hosts will benefit from Mergim Vojvoda's return to fitness, which means wing-backs Ola Aina and Valentino Lazaro have competition on either flank.
Last year, Antonio Sanabria became the first Torino player to score a Serie A double against Juventus since 2000, but the Paraguayan striker has now failed to find the net on home soil for nearly nine months.
As well as fellow forward Pietro Pellegri, he is also struggling for fitness ahead of the game, so may have to start on the bench.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Schuurs, Rodriguez; Aina, Lukic, Linetty, Lazaro; Miranchuk, Radonjic; Vlasic
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Cuadrado, Danilo, Bremer, Sandro; McKennie, Paredes, Rabiot, Kostic; Kean, Vlahovic
We say: Torino 0-1 Juventus
While Juventus are clearly vulnerable, Torino perhaps lack the tools to take full advantage and the weight of history bears heavily on their shoulders. The Turin derby is therefore set to be an attritional affair, in which a low-scoring Juve win is the likeliest result.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
