Serie A Preview: Juventus vs Monza – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

There’s no margin for error as Serie A top-four hopefuls Juventus take on relegation-bound Monza in Sunday’s ‘make or break’ fixture. The tragic passing of Pope Francis pushed this encounter back for a day, handing Igor Tudor more time to rally his troops after a midweek fiasco in Emilia-Romagna.

Juventus dropped out of the Serie A top four on the back of a horrendous 1-0 defeat at Parma on Wednesday. Despite attempting 16 shots, the record-time Italian champions relinquished their three-match unbeaten run under Tudor’s interim tenure (W2, D1), amplifying the need for all three points against the division’s bottom performers.

Only one point adrift of fourth-placed Bologna, Juventus cannot afford a slip-up at the Allianz Stadium, where they’ve reigned supreme in 2024/25. Indeed, they have only lost one home league outing all season (W9, D7), beating bottom-half Lecce 2-1 in their only such contest under the Croatian manager.

Juve’s indomitable home record makes for ominous reading for dead-last Monza, whose slim hopes of extending a two-year stay in Serie A took a fatal blow last weekend. Alessandro Nesta’s side held Scudetto-bidding Napoli scoreless for more than 70 minutes, only to slump to a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat at Stadio Brianteo.

As a result, they finished the last round nailed to the foot of the table, a whopping 11 points below safety. Therefore, another disappointing result in Turin could seal their top-flight status with four games to spare, provided results elsewhere don’t go their way.

Match Preview

Juventus

Wednesday’s heartache at Parma has eliminated wriggle room from the equation, forcing Juventus to treat every game in the run-in like a final. With Tudor’s honeymoon period over, it’s time to pick up the slack, and there’s no better place than Turin to accommodate Juventus’ immediate return to winning ways.

Indeed, Juventus have emerged victorious from six of their last seven league outings at the Allianz Stadium (L1), reinforcing their confidence in finding a way back into the win column this weekend. Furthermore, three of their five remaining league games come against bottom-half teams, keeping their Champions League aspirations firmly alive.

Juventus have been ruthless in home matches against sides outside the top eight at the start of this round, racking up an impressive seven wins and three draws in such encounters. With five of those seven triumphs accompanied by a clean sheet, one goal may potentially help the Bianconeri avoid back-to-back league losses for the second time this term.

Monza

Goal-shy Monza must upset the apple cart to leave Turin undefeated. With 25 goals, they’re Serie A’s worst attacking team. That spells trouble for Nesta’s charges, considering they take on a Juventus team boasting a league-high 15 clean sheets to their name. However, it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Monza have only picked up two points from the last 39 available (D2, L11), cementing their status as the division’s worst-performing team. Particularly sluggish on the road, Nesta’s men have lost six consecutive away league games against teams commencing this round in the top seven, highlighting the magnitude of the task ahead.

With the Biancorossi conceding 3+ goals in four of those six defeats, there’s a chance they could lose in unenviable fashion. Adding to this sentiment, Monza have only won one league game on hostile turf all season (D4, L11). Furthermore, they’ve lost their last three meetings with Juventus, including a 2-1 defeat in December’s reverse fixture at Brianteo.

Team News

In addition to long-term absentees Arkadiusz Milik, Gleison Bremer, and Juan Cabal, Juventus cannot call upon the services of Federico Gatti and Dusan Vlahovic for this showdown. As if that’s not worrying enough, Tudor will likely be without Teun Koopmeiners and Samuel Mbangula.

On the other hand, Monza will be without club captain Matteo Pessina and several other first-team stars, including Keita Balde, Danilo D’Ambrosio, and Armando Izzo. Dany Mota and Gianluca Caprari will likely lead Monza’s misfiring frontline in the absence of Balde.

Juventus vs Monza Potential Starting Line-ups

Juventus (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Veiga, Kelly; McKennie, Locatelli, Thuram, Cambiaso; Gonzalez, Yildiz; Kolo Muani.

Monza (3-5-2): Turati; Pereira, Caldirola, Carboni; Birindelli, Castrovilli, Bianco, Akpa Akpro, Kyriakopoulos; Mota, Caprari

Juventus vs Monza Prediction

Not even an injury-hit Juventus side should struggle against this Monza team. While we wouldn’t go as far as to predict a thrashing, this should be another day in the office for Tudor’s top-four contenders.