24 April 2022
Juventus travel to Emilia Romagna in Match Day 34 of Serie A to face Sassuolo for the third time this season, with the balance reading one victory each so far.
With five games to play, for the first time in the season 2021/22 the Biaconeri take part in a Monday night match. Never before this season have Juve been in the position of knowing exactly how the weekend's action has played out.
The first meeting between the two teams produced the shock of the midweek fixtures in Match Day 10. The 2-1 success for Sassuolo was their first at the Allianz Stadium. The winner was snatched in stoppage time by Maxime Lopez, the last of his three goals this campaign.
The other Neroverdi player on the scoresheet that evening, Davide Frattesi, closed the first half of the season with four goals scored and one assist. However, the attacking midfielder is still looking for his first goal of 2022, and has just added one more decisive pass.
For more details on Sassuolo, click on the Opposition Focus here.
The other meeting in Turin between Juve and Sassuolo was in the quarter finals of the Coppa Italia in February. A match that provided a decidedly more positive outcome...
Although the late winner in the Cup was eventually awarded as an own-goal by Sassuolo defender Ruan, it was all down to the determination and single-mindedness of Dusan Vlahovic.
There was no doubting DV7's name on the scoresheet last weekend, however, with a 95th minute equaliser against Bologna. Since arriving in January, Vlahovic has now scored six goals in 10 league appearances.
Heading into Match Day 34, the Serbian goal grabber is also one of three players to have participated in the highest number of goals this season. His 23 goals and three assists put him just ahead of Domenico Berardi on 14 goals and 11 assists. The Sassuolo wideman sat out last weekend’s defeat at Cagliari through injury but has been named in Alessio Dionisi’s squad for tomorrow’s showdown.
The third player on the podium is Lazio’s Ciro Immobile, with 25 goals and two assists, making for an intense finale to earn the crown as Serie A’s top scorer.
Dusan is following in the footsteps of another natural born striker to have donned the back and white stripes, Gonzalo Higuain, a player that was always a cause for concern to the Sassuolo defence. The Argentine was on the scoresheet on the penultimate visit to Reggio Emilia.
Although that match finished 3-3, it was one of the nine matches in which the Bianconeri have struck at least three against Sassuolo, including all of the last three visits to the Mapei Stadium.
Last season, Adrien Rabiot, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala were on target in a 3-1 victory. Instead, three seasons ago, the 3-0 victory was part of a four-match winning sequence away from home, achieved under the guidance of Massimiliano Allegri.
More recently, the team has put together a run of three successes on the road, and the coach knows what's needed to equal the previous best from his first stint in charge of the Bianconeri.
