Cremonese vs Juventus

Back to Serie A action for the first time after the 2022 World Cup, resurgent Juventus take a trip to the Stadio Giovanni Zini to encounter hot relegation candidates Cremonese.

As the only side in Serie A yet to pick up a single victory in 2022/23 (D7, L8), Cremonese could be grateful for trailing 17th-placed Spezia by only six points. But unless manager Massimiliano Alvini galvanizes his side in 2023, newly-promoted ‘La Cremo’ could be staring down the barrel of an instant return to Serie B. They had shown some signs of improvement on the eve of the mid-season breaking, keeping back-to-back clean sheets at home (D2), including a heroic goalless draw with reigning champions AC Milan last time out. Scoring remains a problem for the home side, though, as they’ve failed to find the back of the net four times across their last five league outings! Indeed, only Sampdoria (6) have netted fewer Serie A goals than Cremonese (11) this term.

In the meantime, Juventus had hit a purple patch before the World Cup hiatus, stringing together six straight Serie A victories without conceding to put a woeful league start firmly behind them. Despite failing to make it out of the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2013/14, ‘I Bianconeri’ have solidified their position in the Serie A top-four race, moving up to third, only two points adrift of second-placed Milan. After going winless on their first four league travels this season (D2, L2), Massimiliano Allegri’s men have won their last three on the trot via an identical scoreline of 1-0. Given that they’ve averaged a meager 0.57 goals per Serie A road trip this season, another low-scoring affair could be on the cards.