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2023/24 Italian Serie A
Matchday 19
Salernitana v Juventus
Stadio Arechi
Salerno, Italy
Sunday, 6 January 2024
Kick-off is at 19h00
Juventus will look to keep the momentum going when they make the long journey south to face
Serie A basement club Salernitana at the Stadio Arechi on Sunday, January 7.
The Bianconeri are Inter Milan's closest challengers for the league title after losing just one of their opening 18 matches and embarking on a 13-game unbeaten run.
A 1-0 victory over Roma on December 30 saw Massimiliano Allegri's side close within two points of the Nerazzurri, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Genoa the previous day.
AC Milan have fallen behind in the title race after suffering a dip in form during October and November, although a 1-0 win over Sassuolo maintained the seven-point gap to Juve in third place.
Alamy Stock Photo
The Granata are rooted to the foot of the table, but gave their survival hopes a shot in the arm with a 1-0 triumph over fellow strugglers Verona to take them within two points of safety.
Filippo Inzaghi's side arrested a four-game winless sequence, having seen Cagliari (18th) and Empoli (19th) play out to a 0-0 draw, which means that the bottom-four teams are separated by just two points.
In team news, Inzaghi has an almost fully-fit squad at his disposal, with Guillermo Ochoa nursing a hamstring injury that will keep him out for another two weeks. Boulaye Dia is unavailable after linking up with Senegal for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
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Allegri has several absentees to contend with as Paul Pogba remains suspended along with Nicolo Fagioli, while Manuel Locatelli serves a one-game ban for the accumulation of yellow cards. Mattia De Sciglio (ACL), Alex Sandro (muscular) and Moise Kean (leg) are ruled out through injury.
Inzaghi believes Salernitana are headed in the right direction after the win at Verona was their first success on the road in a year and also their first clean sheet of the season.
"We end the year in the best possible way, considering that Salernitana hadn't won away for a year. By maintaining this belief we can achieve our dream," he said.
"Today we kept a clean sheet for the first time in the season thanks above all to the tireless pressing of the attackers who gave everything on the pitch. The physical condition has improved considerably and this is also a fundamental aspect that we had lacked until recently.
"I'm proud of the growth of these guys but we are aware that we haven't done anything definitive yet and the road is still long."
Allegri described the narrow win against the Giallorossi as crucial to achieving their targets at the midway point of the campaign and praised his defence for keeping a first clean sheet in three outings.
"It was important to win, especially as we continue to break away from the teams behind us. Once it comes to January 7, we'll see how many points we racked up in the first half of the season," he told DAZN.
"The best thing is that after conceding straight after taking the lead against Frosinone and Genoa, the team has returned to being afraid of conceding a goal. When you are afraid of conceding a goal, you defend with greater concentration."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Serie A Meetings)
Matches - 5
Salernitana - 1
Juventus - 3
Draws - 1
Serie A Matchday 19 fixtures:
Friday, January 5
21h45: Bologna v Genoa
Saturday, January 6
13h30: Inter Milan v Verona
16h00: Frosinone v Monza
19h00: Lecce v Cagliari
21h45: Sassuolo v Fiorentina
Sunday, January 7
13h30: Empoli v AC Milan
16h00: Torino v Napoli
16h00: Udinese v Lazio
19h00: Salernitana v Juventus
21h45: Roma v Atalanta
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