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#BolognaJuve: Ten must-know numbers

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#BolognaJuve: Ten must-know numbers
#BolognaJuve: Ten must-know numbers
#BolognaJuve: Ten must-know numbers

1

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Despite laying claim to a reasonable home record when Juventus come to town, winning 18 and drawing 22 of their 68 previous encounters, it would be fair to say that Bologna are in the midst of a bit of a lean spell against Friday’s visitors.

In fact, the Rossoblu’s 2-0 victory in February 2011 courtesy of ex-Juve striker Marco Di Vaio’s second-half double at the Stadio Olimpico still stands as their only league success over the Bianconeri in 26 attempts.

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that the new league leaders haven’t lost at the Stadio Dall’Ara since November 1998, winning eight and drawing four of their ensuing 12 encounters in the Red City.

2.4

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While the lion’s share of them may only have come at one end of the field, there has hardly been a shortage of goals when Friday’s competitors have faced off in the past in Serie A.

In their 137 previous top-flight encounters, Juve (203) and Bologna (126) have found the net 329 times between them at an average of 2.4 strikes per game.

That said, unfortunately the golden age of goalscoring in this fixture seemingly came and went just under 60 years ago: between 1957 and 1962, the two sides racked up a staggering 51 goals in ten matches in a run that included 4-3, 4-1, 4-2 and 3-0 (twice) victories for the Old Lady.

21

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From the past to the present, and indeed the future.

The 13 strikes and eight assists provided by Argentine sensation Paulo Dybala make him not only the most productive forward in Juventus’ frontline but also the youngest in Europe’s top five divisions to have had a hand in at least 20 league goals this season.

As it happens, the third of Dybala’s efforts came at Juventus Stadium against the same opposition last October from the penalty spot.

28

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After a bumpy start following defeats at Roma, Napoli and Sassuolo, Massimiliano Allegri’s men have found the roads leading away from Juventus Stadium to be a lot smoother in recent times.

Consecutive wins over Empoli, Palermo, Lazio, Carpi, Sampdoria, Chievo and Frosinone, combined with an early season draw with Inter, have seen the Bianconeri accrue 28 away points this term, more than any other team in the division.

37

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A key part of that consistency and central solidity has been the presence of Sami Khedira in the Juventus midfield. Remarkably, the reigning champions are yet to lose a game in which Khedira has featured from the first whistle, winning 12 and drawing once. Talisman.

40

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Marco Di Vaio, now working behind the scenes at Bologna, was the last ex-Juve forward to make a mark on this fixture and no doubt fellow ex-Bianconero Emanuele Giaccherini will have designs on doing the same himself on Friday evening.

While his 40 appearance-spell at Juventus will undoubtedly go down as the most successful of his career in terms of silverware, the diminutive wide man has discovered his very best form in Bologna, scoring six goals this term to arrive within one of his all-time best record of a league season in 2010/11 while in the colours of Cesena.

67

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Giaccherini and co. will need to be at their absolute best however to prevent a repeat of the majority of the scorelines produced in this fixture. The Bianconeri’s convincing 3-1 victory earlier in the season was their 67th over Bologna in Serie A.

As a result, no one has defeated the Rossoblu (nor in fact drawn with them) more often than Juve.

94

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Speaking of scoring form, few players have managed to match the strike rate of super-sub Simone Zaza so far this campaign.

Not only was Simone’s thrilling late winner against Napoli last weekend of vital importance to his team, the Calabrian forward will also be pleased to know that it cemented his place as one of the league’s most consistent strikers: Zaza’s four league goals this season have come at a rate of one every 94 minutes.

105

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As the video below will demonstrate, once the ball finds its way to Paul Pogba it can be very difficult to get it back off him. The proof, if ever it was needed, is here: no Juventus player has attempted more than Pogba’s 105 dribbles so far this season.

While we are it, the Frenchman also tops the Bianconeri charts for tackles (45), shots on goal (83) and passes completed in the opposition half (692).

565

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Ever the holder of curious and often prestigious records, Gianluigi Buffon has now gone 565 minutes without conceding a goal, the longest run in 2016 in Europe’s top five leagues.

Gigi didn’t wait until the turn of the year to start performing however; his total of 13 clean sheets this term is bettered only by Paris Saint-Germain’s Kevin Trapp and Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak.

Indeed, Buffon may well be ticking off number 14 if Bologna’s record against Juventus on home turf is anything to go by: the Rossoblu have failed to score in five of their last eight home encounters with the Bianconeri.

And yes, Gigi did play in all of them.

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