Putting the full stop on a troubled year, fallen giants Juventus aim to extend their revival when visiting Pisa on Saturday evening.
Following two big wins in Serie A and another in Europe, Juve will try to sign off 2025 in style with their fourth straight success.
Match preview
Towards the end of another sub-par year, marked by more chaos from the boardroom down, Juventus have shown signs of rejuvenation under new coach Luciano Spalletti.
While he initially made an uncertain start, the former Italy manager has averaged two points per game since taking the reins from Igor Tudor, whose rate was a more modest 1.50.
For the second week running, Juve conquered a top-four rival last time out, following up their close-fought win in Bologna by beating Roma in Turin.
Francisco Conceicao broke the deadlock before Lois Openda finally netted his first Serie A goal, as the Bianconeri saw off Spalletti’s old club.
A 2-1 win was their sixth from seven games – one more than throughout the previous 16, when they were plagued by persistent draws – including two vital victories in the Champions League.
As a result, Juventus have inched closer to the knockout phase of Europe’s top competition, while climbing the Serie A standings and reaching the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
Now occupying fifth place, they are just four points behind league leaders Inter Milan, so cannot be entirely ruled out of the Scudetto race.
Given this improvement, Juve are likely to secure another victory this weekend, as they have never lost a top-flight game against Pisa in 14 meetings, winning 10 of those.
© Imago
Of course, Pisa most recently welcomed Italy’s most successful club to Tuscany almost 35 years ago, when Juventus won 5-1 with Roberto Baggio bagging a brace and Pierluigi Casiraghi helping himself to a hat-trick.
Not only will the weight of history be stacked against the Nerazzurri this weekend, but recent form also suggests they may struggle to finally beat the Bianconeri.
After a fairly promising start to their comeback campaign, last term’s Serie B runners-up have recently lost three of their previous four matches, including successive 1-0 losses to direct relegation rivals Parma and Lecce.
Last Sunday in Cagliari, Alberto Gilardino’s team nearly suffered another defeat after taking the lead, but Stefano Moreo’s late goal secured at least a point.
Sitting 19th in the table approaching the halfway stage, only crisis club Fiorentina lie below them – and even their regional rivals finally picked up maximum points last week.
As Pisa have posted just one win and one goal at Arena Garibaldi since gaining promotion, overcoming Juventus will pose a particularly tough task.
Pisa Serie A form:
W D L L L D
Juventus Serie A form:
D D W L W W
Juventus form (all competitions):
W W L W W W
Team News
© Imago / IMAGO / Buzzi
Juve’s defensive crisis shows no signs of abating, as centre-back Daniele Rugani is now facing a spell on the sidelines, having just returned to action.
Against Roma, the ex-Ajax man made his first appearance since early November, replacing Brazil international Bremer, who has been on the treatment table for much of this season and last.
With Federico Gatti also unavailable, Spalletti has few fit options to fill his back three, albeit midfielder Teun Koopmeiners has been used there in recent weeks – the latter returns after serving a suspension last week.
Once again, chief creator Kenan Yildiz is set to support a lone striker, but Conceicao misses out through injury. With Dusan Vlahovic out of action, Openda should beat Jonathan David to selection up front.
Meanwhile, Pisa’s top scorer M’Bala Nzola is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Angola, while Nigeria midfielder Ebenezer Akinsanmiro is also representing his country in Morocco.
Vying with Matteo Tramoni to partner Nzola’s deputy Henrik Meister, Moreo has posted four Serie A goal involvements, following his successful cameo appearance last week. However, none have come on home turf.
Injury-plagued pair Juan Cuadrado (hamstring) and Calvin Stengs (adductor) are still out of action, but Gilardino has no fresh absences to concern him.
Pisa possible starting lineup:
Semper; Canestrelli, Caracciolo, Bonfanti; Toure, Vural, Piccinini, Aebischer, Angori; Tramoni, Meister
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Bremer, Koopmeiners; McKennie, Locatelli, Thuram, Cambiaso; Miretti, Yildiz; Openda
We say: Pisa 0-2 Juventus
In light of Juve’s recent upturn and Pisa’s dismal home record, surely the visitors will end 2025 with a win.
Spalletti’s side have found some sorely-missed cohesion, while their hosts look set for a short stay in Serie A.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
