Serie A: Juventus Optimistic For an Eventful Easter Sunday In Turin

Torino vs Juventus

As they continue to try and defend their Serie A title, Juventus return to Turin to square off against local rivals Torino just in time for Easter Sunday.

These past few weeks haven’t been kind for Andrea Pirlo’s side and they will be hoping that their traditional derby-day dominance can help them collect three valuable points.

The pressure is mounting for I Bianconeri as they are only placed third in the Italian top-flight standings with 55 points – which is at least four points adrift compared to their Milan rivals.

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Torino, on the other hand, see this as a big game for them too given their main objective this term. Il Toro are hopeful for a turnaround as they are in a precarious position at the table.

Davide Nicola’s men are at the 17th spot with 23 points and they are only one point clear out of the relegation zone.

Beating Juventus at home is quite a daunting challenge for Torino, but are they up for the challenge?

Talking points

Juventus are not spared by injuries and COVID-19

Facing a spate of injuries and COVID-19 concerns, Andrea Pirlo’s side has no choice but to carry on in these upcoming games. Juventus had a miserable month of March and they are keen to turn things around in April.

They were eliminated in the Champions League by Porto after a disastrous showing while they lost 1-0 to Benevento in their last Serie A game.

Those performances are unacceptable by their standards and that creates an uneasy environment in the dressing room.

Unfortunately for the defending champions, there’s more bad Serie A 2021 news as they’ll be incomplete in Turin. Weston McKennie, Merih Demiral, and Leonardo Bonucci are out since they’re COVID-19 positive while Arthur and Giorgio Chiellini’s fitness levels are in doubt.

On the flipside, Paulo Dybala seems ready to go after an injury-plagued campaign and he’ll add another attacking threat alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Federico Chiesa, and Alvaro Morata.

For the meantime, Matthijs de Ligt will marshal the backline alongside Danilo and Juan Cuadrado, while Rodrigo Bentancur, Adrien Rabiot, and Aaron Ramsey fill the spots in the middle.

Juventus will be go against Torino in Serie A without Weston McKennie after testing positive for COVID-19 — Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo and Weston McKennie celebrate 1-3 victory over Cagliari at Sardegna Arena

Andrea Belotti has been missing for Torino

Similar to Juventus, Torino weren’t also spared by injuries and COVID-19. However, they also must fight on in order to escape relegation.

Torino confirmed that wing-back Wilfried Singo is out due to a thigh injury that he picked up during practice, while the defencive trio of Nicolas Nkoulou, Lyanco, and Gleison Bremer are all questionable for this game.

In their recent loss against Sampdoria, Davide Nicola criticised the team’s lack of killer instinct since they couldn’t match their opponents’ firepower.

Perhaps he might be referring to Andrea Belotti as he hasn’t played up to par for Il Toro given that his last club goal dates back to early February.

Moreover, Nicola is optimistic that Belotti would regain his form especially after scoring for Italy in their win over Bulgaria few days ago.

History

Juventus are heading into this game brimming in confidence especially if you’ll look at their head-to-head record against their Turin neighbours.

Torino have only won one of their last 29 league fixtures against Juventus. I Bianconeri have won 22 times and drawn six times.

Il Toro have conceded goals in each of their last 19 meetings. The last time that they shut out Juventus was back in February 2008.

In the reverse fixture last December, Juventus came away with a 2-1 win in dramatic fashion.

Torino were on their way to score an upset as they held a one-goal lead for much of the contest after a ninth-minute goal from Nicolas Nkoulou.

However, Weston McKennie and Leonardo Bonucci scored one goal each late in the second half to complete the comeback.

Betting Tip

	Torino vs Juventus	Juventus Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 1.91
	April 4, 00:00(GMT+8)

The Serie A 2021 odds here at SBOTOP are backing Juventus to cruise and get the three points.

I Bianconeri are priced at 1.53 to win, while Il Toro are placed low at 5.80 and chances for a draw are at 4.10 in the 1×2 market.

With both sides in danger of missing out on their objectives this term, the stakes are quite high for this edition of the Turin Derby.

Despite the mounting pressure and their inconsistent form lately, Juventus should come away with a victory simply because they have the stronger roster on paper.

However, this win won’t be a walk in the park for Andrea Pirlo’s side as Torino can certainly give the visitors a run for their money.