Six days on from their explosive clash with Genoa, Juventus return to the Olimpico in search of their seventh straight home win. It was a thrilling affair at the Marassi, described by Deschamps as both “great to watch and great to play in”. The Bianconeri carved out numerous chances and at the other end, Buffon was in fine form, saving a penalty and bringing to a halt a wave of opposition attacks - it was a performance befitting of a player who received the Fifpro award for world’s best goalkeeper that very same evening. It was just a shame that Juventus’ advantage, sealed in the 71st minute by a Nedved free-kick, was cancelled out so soon after by Juric’s strike. The point made them overnight leaders but Deschamps’ men lie in second place coming into Saturday’s game, just one point behind Napoli and level with Bologna. In search of an outright lead at the top, the Bianconeri play host to Hellas Verona, who currently lie fourth from bottom, in between Crotone and Vicenza. Despite the gulf between the two sides in the overall standings, Ficcadenti’s outfit are not to be underestimated, having secured more points on their travels than they have done on home soil. Along with Pescara, Verona are the only team not to have claimed three points in front of their home crowd this term, picking up just three draws from seven outings. However, the Gialloblù have faired considerably better away from Verona, with eight of their eleven points this season coming from their travels.
Hellas can boast of a well-drilled line-up and Ficcadenti is not afraid to give space to the most interesting of his home grown players - relatively unknown but excellent at this level - in his 4-3-3 formation.
Midfielders Mazzola and Italiano are without a doubt the best known of Verona’s number, both of them top performers with plenty of experience, while up front Ficcadenti employs Iunco - a reliable left winger - and Cossu, alongside the Brazilian Da Silva. The Gialloblù play simple football, defend well and pose a real threat on the counter-attack. :angel2:
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