Serie A – Match Preview: Juventus versus Sampdoria
After undergoing massive changes in the close season, Juventus lost their first Italian league match of the 2010-2011 season to Bari. It was a disappointing start to the season for Luigi Del Neri’s team as he had brought in fresh blood during the summer transfer window and therefore will be looking to mount a strong challenge for a top four spot in the Serie A.
It has been around four years since Juventus had their hands on the Scudetto, something that a club of their size and magnitude will be looking to put into order with their second match of the season against Sampdoria. Despite bringing in new faces, Juventus have found it hard to get their results right so far as they qualified for the Europa league group stages after a couple of unconvincing wins over Sturm Graz.
Sampdoria on the other hand failed to qualify for the Europa league group stages after throwing away their winning position against Werder Bremen but the Italian club has put that sorrowful situation behind them and is now set to focus on their Italian league campaign. Sampdoria won their first league match of the season against Lazio at the end of last month.
Juventus will have to be on their top form to get a victory in their first home match of the season and their coach Del Neri knows his team’s weaknesses and strengths all too well to allow them to fail again. Sampdoria have a potent strike force in the shape of Pazzini and Cassano. Both the players were selected for the Italian national team’s Euro 2012 qualifiers against Faroe Islands and therefore are considered to be very good marksmen in their own right.
Antonio Cassano, the ex-Real Madrid striker has already signaled his intent of domination as he opened his account for Sampdoria in their opening day win against Lazio on 29th of August; the striker will be the man to watch out for as far as Juventus’s defense is concerned. Del Neri, who coached Cassano previously when the striker was under the Italian managers command at Sampdoria, told the press that he is hoping that Cassano has one of his off-days against Juventus on Sunday.
Sampdoria’s short comings have been associated with their weak defense and the lack of squad strength that has been displayed in the recent years, regardless of the fact that their starting eleven is quite competitive, the Genoa club falls short whenever the season enters into full flight and injuries to some of their key players kick in.
Juve’s midfielder Davide Lanzafame has already started to stir up his club’s fans before the Sunday evening encounter against Sampdoria. He spoke to the media and saluted all the Juventus fans by expressing his thoughts about the club’s defeat to Bari. He asked the fans for their increased support as Juve embark on a new chapter in their glorious history.
Lanzafame further added that Juventus have a tough game coming up and that he is confident that the squad has worked hard enough to get the three points that are so crucially needed by the Torino club.
Juventus’s summer singing, Alberto Aquilani has been declared fit enough to start for the Italian giants and therefore it is expected that the former Roma midfielder will start the match in Juventus’s midfield alongside the Brazilian defensive playmaker Felipe Melo. On the right side of Juve’s attack, Serbian Milos Krasic is expected to feature prominently. Krasic is also one of the new comers at Juventus; the club secured his services from CSKA Moscow in the summer transfer window.
As the match is at Juve’s home ground, the Bianconeri are favorites to get a result but given the striker power in Sampdoria’s lineup, a scored draw is the most favorable result for this match.
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