Juventus vs Monza

Allianz Stadium is the venue as subdued Juventus and Serie A surprise package Monza go head-to-head in a mid-table contest.

Juventus cannot catch a break in 2023, as only days after suffering a humiliating 5-1 defeat at runaway Serie A leaders Napoli – their worst top-flight loss since 1993 – a 15-point deduction due to their former board’s shady operations demoted them to mid-table. Last weekend’s action-packed 3-3 home draw against Atalanta halted Juventus’ impressive five-game winning league run without conceding in Turin. After a point deduction, Massimiliano Allegri’s men sit a whopping 14 points adrift of fourth-placed Inter Milan, so launching a substantial winning streak is a must if they’re to become relevant in the top-four race again. Considering they’ve won five of their last six Serie A encounters against newly-promoted sides (L1), this should be a perfect place to start.

However, Juventus’ only defeat in that run came against non-other than Monza, with ‘I Biancorossi’ dispatching the record-time Serie A champions 1-0 on Raffaele Palladino’s touchline debut. Inspired by an early success, Palladino has led Monza to 21 points in his 13 league matches in charge, helping them become the first Serie A debutant side to amass as many points in the first half of a season since 2004/05. But before a 3-2 win at dead-last Cremonese on their last Serie A road trip, the visitors had gone winless on their previous four league travels (D1, L3), casting doubt on their bid to become the second-ever club to win their first two top-flight matches against Juventus. Adding to this sentiment, they found themselves on the receiving end of a 2-1 scoreline in their Coppa Italia last-16 tie earlier this month.