03 March 2017
Shaping up to Sunday
Amid recent victories in the Champions League and Coppa Italia against Porto and Napoli respectively, the Bianconeri have also won their last seven Serie A matches, scoring 15 goals in the process and conceding just once (against Palermo).
Their latest league triumph, at home to Empoli on Saturday, was their 30th consecutive in a row at Juventus Stadium. As you can see in the infographic below, a fair bit has happened in the timeframe dating back to October 2015.
Juve’s only dropped points this season have come away from home, but since losing against Fiorentina in mid-January, they’ve picked up three successive wins on the road at Sassuolo, Crotone and Cagliari.
Udinese, meanwhile, head into Sunday’s meeting off the back of three straight defeats, collecting just four points from a possible 18 in recent weeks.
September 2015 was the last time the Zebrette suffered four consecutive losses, but, if their previous meetings are anything to go by, Juventus are not the side they’ll want to be facing in order to buck such a trend.
Zebra vs Zebrette in the past
Of the 42 times these two teams have locked horns in Udine, the hosts have only won five. Twelve draws and 25 away victories complete the picture that resoundingly favours the Bianconeri this weekend.
The last time Udinese sealed the spoils on their home patch against Juve was back in April 2010 thanks to goals from Alexis Sanchez, Simone Pepe and Antonio Di Natale.
Since then, the reigning champions have drawn twice and secured four victories, all of which by at least a two-goal margin.
In fact, Juve have found the net 14 times in their last six trips to Udine, conceding just a solitary strike from the Zebrette in the process.
The main men
Alex Sandro scored a superb goal away to Udinese last time out and he heads to the Dacia Arena this year off the back of another fine finish in the league against Empoli.
If the Brazilian wing-back was one of the revelations of the 2015/16 season, his second campaign with Juventus is proving to be just as prolific with four assists to his name.
The man to have filled in for Alex Sandro at left-back on occasion, Kwadwo Asamoah, has been highly reliable whenever called upon, his neat passing and possession more than evident in the February wins at home to Palermo and Napoli.
And in Juan Cuadrado, Juve have another ex Udinese man often making the difference of late. His pinpoint cross for Mario Mandzukic helped break the deadlock against a resilient Empoli, while his second-half introduction on Tuesday against Napoli effectively changed the game, his dynamsim, trickery and technical class ultimately outwitting top-drawer opponents.
Just as Alex Sandro is Juve’s main creative outlet from the backline, Udinese count upon the services of Silvan Widmer, the Swiss right-back providing a team-high four assists this season.
Brazilian centre-back Danilo has been a solid presence in defence, making the most blocks (24) and clearances (156), while French striker Cyril Théréau, who netted a last-minute winner in the Bianconeri’s last league defeat at Juventus Stadium in August 2015, tops the Zebrette scoring charts with nine goals.
