Juventus vs Chievo
Italian Serie A
Date: Saturday, 8th April 2017
Kick-off at 19:45 UK / 20:45 CET
Venue: Juventus Stadium, Turin.
Saturday night sees a huge change of pace for Juventus, as they prepare to face Chievo in their push for the Italian title. The game comes after a huge double header against Napoli at the San Paolo, and before their meeting with Barcelona in the Champions League. With just eight games remaining, the Italian title seems to be destined for Juventus Stadium for the sixth straight season. Will the Old Lady move even closer towards wrapping things up this weekend?
It’s hard to see much resistance from the visitors, who claim just 1.14 points per game on their travels. After back to back defeats against Crotone and Bologna, a visit to the top side in Italy isn’t what Chievo need right now. The hosts come in to this game with a perfect record at their own ground, claiming 45 points from a possible 45. There’s a very strong chance that this will be a 32nd consecutive home league victory for the champions, as they’re 2/9 favourites with bet365.
While a win for the hosts is expected, there isn’t great value in backing Juventus in the match betting. However, they’ve been comfortable winners in the majority of their matches at home this term. The champions have won by two or more goals in 60% of their league outings at Juventus Stadium so far. They’ve racked up 38 goals in their 15 games on this ground, conceding just eight goals in return.
Chievo are no strangers to a heavy defeat on their travels, losing by two or more goals in 62% of their away losses. Four of their last five defeats on their travels have been by two goals, while 71% of their losses overall have been by a two goal margin. That should lead to another easy win for the champions, especially given the Gialloblu’s poor record at this ground. They’ve lost three times at this stadium since 2012, all of which have been by a two goal margin. That’s why we’re backing Juve with a -1 handicap, which is priced at 8/11 with bet365.
Juventus
The Old Lady was defeated by Napoli on Wednesday in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final. However, due to the 3-1 victory in the first leg, Juve qualified for the final where they will face Lazio.
Juve are undisputed in home matches this season in Serie A. They won all 15 matches in Turin.
Massimiliano Allegri and his team are already thinking about Champions League clash against Barcelona next week. It remains to be seen if he is able to keep his players’ focus and motivation in check towards another Serie A title cruise.
Chievo
Chievo Verona are sitting comfortably in the 11th position without chances for reaching the UEFA competitions while being perfectly safe from the relegation zone.
Despite Chievo will probably extend their two-game losing after the Turin visit, they are far from the threatening form decline. In the previous 7 Serie A outings, the team from Verona managed to score at least once.
Juventus vs Chievo: Head-to-head
Juve are yet to be defeated by Chievo in home matches. In November, the two sides met at Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi in Verona where the hosts were defeated 1-2.
Juventus vs Chievo: Prediction
With the upcoming game of the season approaching, we might see several rotations in Massimiliano Allegri’s squad on Saturday. The Italian expert will probably field his B team in order to prevent injuries and fatigue for the upcoming clash against Barcelona.
