Serie A: Turin Derby Comes at a Good Time For Juventus

Juventus vs Torino

Could this finally be the year that someone wrestles the Serie A championship from the grip of the Old Lady? Let’s face it, we’ve asked that question for almost a decade now and the answer has always been no.

But I Bianconeri has made a stuttering start to the 2020/21 Serie A campaign, and they sit six points behind leaders Milan.

Having said that, Juventus are making a slow and steady climb up the league table now in fourth, while Torino are currently stranded in the bottom three.

There is plenty of distance left to travel in this season’s campaign and Marco Giampaola’s team should climb away from trouble.

But the Turin Derby has never been kind to Il Toro. And in the big match of the weekend here at SBOTOP, we’re predicting the Old Lady to win the bragging rights again.

The latest Serie A 2020 betting odds pitch I Bianconeri as low as 1.39 to take all three points and anything less would heap more pressure on the Juve boss.

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Talking Points

Time for the Old Lady to rediscover her ruthless streak

Head coach Pirlo was criticised for his tactics and over-tinkering with his formation in the early games of this season, and a six-point gap to the top is bigger than he would have hoped for.

But Juve are one of only two teams alongside Milan, who are yet to be beaten in Serie A this term. It’s the five draws from nine games which have hampered I Bianconeri’s progress.

Last week’s 1-1 draw with Benevento was another subpar performance and it showed just how Juve can struggle when their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t in the lineup. But he’s recovered from COVID-19 and will be fit to play in the Turin Derby.

Ronaldo has eight goals in the league so far and he was on target on Wednesday night as Juventus beat Dynamo Kiev 3-0 in the Champions League.

The Old Lady is already through to the knockout stage along with Barcelona, who topped Group G with five wins from five.

And there was more encouragement for Juve fans in the performance of Federico Chiesa who scored a fine goal against Kiev, and he could be ready to support Ronaldo up front alongside Alvaro Morata.

As well as Benevento, Juve have already dropped points to Crotone and Verona and that gives Torino a glimmer of hope.

Torino desperate to get out of the drop zone

Giampaola’s side have picked up five points from the last four games, and that has dragged them up to within two points of the safety line.

Although it is early in the season, no one wants to hang around in the bottom three for too long. However, with a striker of the quality of Andrea Belotti in their ranks, Il Toro should climb to mid-table safety before too long.

Belotti scored his seventh goal of the league season in a 2-2 draw with Sampdoria last weekend and he will be a threat on Saturday.

Can Andrea Belotti score a goal against local rivals Juventus in Serie A? — Andrea Belotti scored the opening goal in their match against Sampdoria

But he will be hoping and praying his defence can cope with Ronaldo and co. as Torino threw away a two-goal lead against Inter Milan recently when they had less than half an hour to hold out.

After Simone Zaza had given Il Toro a half-time lead, Cristian Ansaldi doubled their advantage with a 62^nd minute penalty.

However, it all fell apart as Romelu Lukaku — who scored a brace — Lautaro Martinez, and Alexis Sanchez simply blew the Torino rearguard away.

Defensive midfielder Tomas Rincon is a key player. He is fast and physical which gives him the capability to break up play, but also has the engine to play box-to-box.

If he has a good game, then who knows?

History

The historical Serie A 2020 results won’t give the visitors much hope at all.

Juventus have won 24 of the 34 Turin derbies since 1993, losing just three and drawing seven.

I Bianconeri won the last meeting back in July and it was a multiple cause for celebration. Ronaldo scored a free-kick for Juve – his first at the 43^rd time of asking which is quite absurd if you think about it.

He also became the first Juve player to score 25 Serie A goals since 1961, while legendary keeper Gianluigi Buffon made a record breaking 648^th top-flight appearance.

The closer you look the worse it gets for Torino. Juve have not lost this fixture at home in 16 encounters and have only lost one of the last 28 home or away.

And here’s a statistic which will send a shiver down Il Toro’s fans’ spines. With six points from nine games, Torino have equalled their worst start since 2002 and they lost the 10

game that season to Juventus, 4-0!