Juventus vs Parma: preview, team news, how to watch and prediction

Juventus will face off against newly promoted side Parma at the Allianz Stadium in Serie A on Wednesday evening.

The Bianconeri are currently third in the table with 17 points from nine games under new manager, Thiago Motta, sitting five points behind the league leaders Napoli.

The hosts will be coming into this game off the back of a 4-4 draw in the Derby D’Italia against Inter Milan. The Bianconeri started the game promisingly and found themselves 2-1 up but the Nerazzurri came back brilliantly by scoring three goals on either side of the interval.

In the end, Motta’s side showcased their character and equalised the game thanks to Kenan Yildiz’s two late goals. So, following this result, they will feel a lot of confidence ahead of this fixture.

On the other hand, Parma haven’t been at their best thus far this season after gaining promotion. They are currently languishing at 17th in the league. They have accumulated eight points from nine games, sitting just ahead of the relegation zone.

The visitors have won only one game in the league this term and that came back in gameweek 2 against AC Milan. They are currently winless in their last seven league fixtures.

Previous meetings

The Bianconeri have been the dominant force over their Wednesday’s opponent in recent years as they have won five out of the last six games against them. Parma’s last win versus Juventus was back in 2015 and their last victory over the Old Lady of Turin away from home was back in 2011.

So, they will be hoping to rectify their record against Juventus in this encounter but it will be an extremely daunting task.

How to watch

The game will kick off at 7:45 PM UK time and the match will be televised live on TNT Sports 1.

Alternatively, match going fans can buy Juventus tickets from the club or through trusted resellers online.

Team news

The Bianconeri have a few injury problems at the moment as Arkadiusz Milik and Bremer are currently on long-term injury lists. Moreover, Teun Koopmeiners and Nico Gonzalez may also miss out on this game owing to their respective injury problems. Douglas Luiz is in doubt due to a thigh issue.

As for Parma, they will be without Yordan Osorio and Alessandro Circati due to their injury problems.

Predicted line-ups

Motta likes to deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation and is likely to go with this formation in this fixture with Michele Di Gregorio set to be between the sticks. Federico Gatti is expected to be at the heart of defence alongside Danilo for Juventus. Nicolo Savona may commence in the right-back position, while Juan Cabal could be on the opposite side.

Manuel Locatelli is set to be deployed in the deep-lying playmaker position and Khephren Thuram would be in the box-to-box role. Nicolo Fagioli could commence as the attacking midfielder.

Yildiz might be on the left flank and Andrea Cambiaso should be on the right. Dusan Vlahovic is set to be leading the line for the Old Lady of Turin. In that case, Timothy Weah would be among the substitutes.

Expected Juventus line-up vs Parma

Di Gregorio; Savona, Gatti, Danilo, Cabal; Locatelli, Thuram, Fagioli; Yildiz, Vlahovic, Cambiaso

As for Parma, Fabio Pecchia is also expected to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation in this game. Zion Suzuki is set to be between the sticks and in front of the Japanese, Enrico Del Prato and Botond Balogh should be the centre-back pairing. Woyo Coulibaly and Emanuele Valeri are likely to be the two fullbacks for the visitors.

Mandela Keita would be in the midfield pivot role alongside Adrian Bernabe with Hernani in the number ten role. Valentin Mihaila could start in the left-wing position and Dennis Man might be on the opposite side. Ange-Yoan Bonny is expected to be the lone striker for Pecchia’s side.

Expected Parma line-up vs Juventus

Suzuki; Coulibaly, Del Prato, Balogh, Valeri; Keita, Bernabe, Hernani; Mihaila, Bonny, Man

Key players

Vlahovic hasn’t been able to flourish his career at Juventus after joining the club from Fiorentina a few years ago. But, he has had a promising start to this season under Motta, making nine goal contributions in 12 games in all competitions.

Therefore, the hosts will be hoping that the Serbian international will be able to help the club earn three points from this game by putting his name on the scoresheet.

Yildiz scored twice last time out and is full of confidence at the moment. He is highly rated at the club and possesses the potential to become a top-class player. So, the visitors will have to keep a close eye on the 19-year-old to come away with a positive result from this encounter.

Locatelli is a key player for Motta to link the play from defence to attack. If he plays at his best then it would become easy for the hosts to win this encounter. Therefore, Parma will have to find a way to stop him.

Gatti has established himself as a key player for Juventus in a very short period and he possesses a big threat in the opposition box during the set-piece situations due to his heading prowess. So, he is one of the ways for the Bianconeri to score goals.

For Parma, they would be looking to play in the counter-attacking system so the onus will be on Mihaila and Man to stretch the opposition defence and create goal-scoring opportunities.

Bonny will have to be clinical in this game as he won’t get many chances but will have to take full advantage of the opportunities when he receives any.

Parma’s back four and the goalkeeper will have to be at the top of their games to come away with a positive result from this extremely difficult fixture.

Juventus have struggled to win games this term as they have drawn five out of nine games thus far in Serie A this term. So, the visitors can get something from this match if they can manage to defend resolutely.

Prediction

Juventus will come into this game as heavy favourite and anything but a victory in this encounter for them will be considered as a big shock. The Old Lady of Turin are currently unbeaten in the league and will be looking to continue the unbeatable run against Pecchia’s side.

Parma haven’t won away from home thus far in Serie A this campaign but they have lost only one out of four games. Moreover, they have defeated Milan this season and will be hoping to do something like that in this encounter. It is going to be interesting to see how this match eventually unfolds on Wednesday night. Juventus 3-0 Parma