Juventus vs Monza
The 2023/24 Serie A season can’t end soon enough for Juventus, but they’ll be keen to sign off in style when they meet Monza at the Allianz Stadium on the final weekend.
Juventus caretaker boss Paolo Montero had a baptism in fire on his touchline debut as ‘I Bianconeri’ hauled back a three-goal deficit to hold Bologna to a 3-3 draw earlier this week. It was a decent start to life after Massimiliano Allegri, whom they relieved of his duties barely 48 hours after inspiring the club to Coppa Italia glory last week. Having overseen an unprecedented feat, with Juventus avoiding defeat after falling three goals down for the first time in their top Serie A history, Montero now looks to prevent an unwanted piece of history. The hosts head into proceedings having drawn their last six league outings and could make it seven consecutive stalemates in Serie A for the first time since 1971.
Out-of-sorts Monza could be a perfect opposition to help Juventus end a disappointing campaign on a high, with last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to relegation-battling Frosinone extending the visitors’ dreadful winless league streak to eight matches (D3, L5). Coach Raffaele Palladino could leave Brianteo at the end of the season, but first, he’d love to lead Monza to a 100-point milestone. It would require ‘I Biancorossi’ to beat Juventus, a feat they achieved in their only previous top-flight H2H in Turin, courtesy of a 2-0 win last season. Indeed, they boast a positive Serie A record against the record-time Italian champions (W2, L1), though the only blemish was a 2-1 home loss in this season’s reverse fixture. It’s no less important to note they’ve won none of their last four away league games (D2, L2).