After a run of six straight wins came grinding to a halt during the past week, Juventus look to start another streak on Saturday, when they visit Hellas Verona.
Though a controversial late equaliser helped the Bianconeri avoid defeat in the Derby d'Italia, they were sunk by Sassuolo in midweek, while their hosts picked up another point on Wednesday to inch inside the top half of the table.
Match preview
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At the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday, seventh-placed Juventus suffered the second home defeat of their Serie A campaign; an event which rarely happened at all in seasons past - and certainly not as soon as October.
Amid talk the Old Lady's title hopes could be over already, Juve were stunned by a cheeky Maxime Lopez finish deep into stoppage time, as they strode forward in pursuit of a winner of their own.
Having retrieved a one-goal deficit through Weston McKennie's 76th-minute equaliser, the Bianconeri seemed set to snatch another victory to continue their growing momentum - with a nine-match unbeaten run at home and abroad earning much praise - but there was a sting in the Sassuolo tail.
Juventus had lost only one of their previous 16 Serie A matches against the Emilian overachievers; winning seven of their eight encounters with them at the Allianz Stadium, while running in an average of nearly three goals per game.
Therefore, the repercussions of such a loss have fallen heavily upon coach Max Allegri, who was clearly irritated by his side's lack of game management in the final moments.
Due to the packed fixture list this month, Juve have the chance to make amends straight away though, as they visit Veneto for a clash with potentially awkward opponents, who they have failed to get the better of during each of their last three meetings.
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Under current coach Igor Tudor's predecessor, his Croatian compatriot Ivan Juric, Verona held Juventus to a pair of 1-1 draws last term, having previously beaten the Bianconeri 2-1 at the Bentegodi in February 2020.
A former Juve defender of some renown, Tudor's managerial career has been slow to get off the tarmac, but has recently shown signs of flying higher since he took the reins at Hellas last month.
Sacked along with Andrea Pirlo at the end of last season, the ex-Juventus assistant now welcomes his erstwhile colleagues to Verona with his new club just three points and three places behind the 36-time national champions.
Considering the Gialloblu were in the doldrums when he stepped in to remedy the disastrous reign of Eusebio Di Francesco, the former Udinese boss has overseen an uplift in their fortunes of late - losing just one of his seven games so far; rattling in 19 goals in the process.
A surprising 4-1 victory over Lazio last weekend was followed, in midweek, by a 1-1 draw at Udinese, in which Hellas were grateful for Antonin Barak's 82nd-minute penalty to salvage a point that lifts them to 10th in the table.
On Saturday, Tudor will lead his team against another of his former employers, amid a tricky five-match spell in which Hellas have been pitted against Milan, Lazio, Juve and Napoli, who they meet next weekend.
However, they can approach the game in confidence, as recent goals from the likes of on-loan Giovanni Simeone - who netted four versus Lazio alone - Nikola Kalinic and Gianluca Caprari have added an element which was sorely lacking last term.
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Team News
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Juventus are set to be without Federico Chiesa, Aaron Ramsey (both muscular) and Moise Kean (thigh) through injury, but Federico Bernardeschi has recovered more quickly than anticipated from a shoulder problem and will be involved.
Max Allegri had midfielder Adrien Rabiot back in the starting XI during the week, following his return from COVID-19 infection. However, the Frenchman was withdrawn at the interval and could now be replaced by either Arthur or Rodrigo Bentancur at the Bentegodi.
Having just come back into the side, full-back Mattia De Sciglio also came off on Wednesday, after just 13 minutes. A thigh injury is now set to keep him out of the next three games, so the former Milan man will only return to action after the next international break.
In his absence, Alex Sandro should come in at left-back, while Juan Cuadrado and Dejan Kulusevski have strong claims to be picked again following the forwards' failure to fire against Sassuolo. Wojciech Szczesny is poised to replace Mattia Perin in goal.
Verona, meanwhile, only have Gianluca Frabotta - currently on loan from Juve - ruled out of action at the moment, though Nicolo Casale must yet be passed fit to return from a muscular issue which kept him out of the back three at Udinese. If required, Giangiacomo Magnani stands ready to deputise again.
In-form pair Gianluca Caprari and Giovanni Simeone are set to return at the expense of fellow forwards Kevin Lasagna and Nikola Kalinic for the home side, while Darko Lazovic should be brought in for Bosko Sutalo out wide.
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Dawidowicz, Ceccherini, Magnani; Faraoni, Tameze, Veloso, Lazovic; Barak, Caprari, Simeone
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, De Ligt, Sandro; Cuadrado, Bentancur, Locatelli, McKennie; Morata, Dybala
We say: Hellas Verona 1-2 Juventus
Juventus can get back to winning ways in Verona, as any complacency from their previous winning run should have been wiped out by the chastening nature of Wednesday's defeat.
To get past streaky opponents, though, their high-profile attacking talent will have to up their game. The Gialloblu have conceded an average of nearly two goals per home game so far, so they certainly have some defensive weaknesses which can be exploited.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Juventus win with a probability of 60.85%. A draw had a probability of 20.5% and a win for Hellas Verona had a probability of 18.63%.
The most likely scoreline for a Juventus win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.91%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.26%) and 0-1 (8.84%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.47%), while for a Hellas Verona win it was 2-1 (5.07%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 5.1% likelihood.
