Juventus head into Friday's Serie A encounter with Torino looking to move within three wins of achieving 100 points by the end of the campaign.
Torino head into the contest against the champions knowing that victory will take the club level on points with fourth-placed Atalanta BC.
Juventus
© ReutersJuventus have recently squandered the opportunity to go through the entire Serie A campaign without suffering a defeat, but the already-crowned champions still have targets ahead of the end of the season.
Avoiding defeat against Inter Milan at San Siro last weekend has meant that Massimiliano Allegri's side can still achieve the 100-point mark with victories in their closing four fixtures.
Juventus have not reached three figures since the 2013-14 campaign, and it would represent a significant achievement for Allegri at a time when his future at the club has been in doubt.
Tough fixtures still lie ahead for Juventus with Roma, Atalanta and Sampdoria all still to come, but Allegri will want to keep his players motivated over the final few weeks of the season.
Allegri would have been disappointed to see his team go behind during the early stages of their most recent outings against Fiorentina and Inter, but his players still managed to earn four points from those games.
Cristiano Ronaldo added his 26th strike of the season in the meeting with Inter, and it broke a poor run of form in Serie A with the Portuguese having not contributed a goal or assist in Italy's top flight since February 15.
Juventus have remained relatively tight at the back, but a clean sheet has not been kept in their last six outings in all competitions.
That is a statistic which Allegri will not want to see prolonged for much longer, and a derby showdown may be the occasion to get Juventus back firing on all cylinders.
Recent form: WWWLWD
Recent form (all competitions): WDLLWL
Torino
© ReutersTorino have been classed as outsiders to earn a place in next season's Europa League for much of the campaign, but Walter Mazzarri's side know that a strong end to the season could be enough to earn a spot in the Champions League.
Just one defeat has been registered in their last 14 outings in Serie A, and last week's 2-0 success over AC Milan has put the club within touching distance of an appearance at European football's top table.
Facing Juventus on away territory at this stage of the season puts Torino at a clear disadvantage to their rivals, although Il Toro are under much less pressure than some of their nearest rivals.
Nevertheless, there will be an acknowledgement that this is the club's best opportunity to break into the top four of Italian football for some time, and a positive result in Turin would leave Mazzarri's side in a strong position.
The goals for Andrea Belotti from open play have dried up in recent matches, but the recent success of this team is largely due to a backline who rarely concede more than one goal in a match.
Just three goals have been conceded in their last six outings, and Torino only succumbed to Juventus earlier in the season due a late penalty from Ronaldo.
That match will provide Mazzarri and his players with confidence heading into a fixture of this magnitude, and there is a window of opportunity with Juventus having not produced their best football throughout April.
That may change on Friday evening given the rivalry between the sides, but Torino will take belief from having already avoided defeat against each of Inter, AC Milan, Lazio and Napoli on the road this season.
Recent form: DWDDWW
Team News
© ReutersAlex Sandro has joined Juventus's growing injury list for this fixture, and that is likely to lead to a recall for Leonardo Spinazzola.
Allegri still has options regarding his formation, but a four-man backline appears likely with Emre Can remaining in the centre of midfield.
Sami Khedira, Douglas Costa, Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic are all sidelined for the league leaders.
Torino are without Emiliano Moretti through suspension, while Koffi Djidji is also unavailable for Friday's clash in Turin.
Brazilian defender Bremer is expected to be included, but Chelsea loanee Ola Aina may be kept among the replacements.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Cancelo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Spinazzola; Can, Pjanic, Matuidi; Cuadrado, Ronaldo, Bernardeschi
Torino possible starting lineup:
Sirigu; Izzo, Nkoulou, Bremer; Silvestri, Meite, Rincon, Ansaldi; Baselli, Berenguer; Belotti
Head To Head
Torino head into Friday's encounter having failed to score in each of their last four contests with Juventus.
The leaders have registered four successive wins, although Allegri's side have only prevailed by a one-goal margin in each of their last two trips to Torino.
We say: Juventus 3-1 Torino
Juventus may have under-performed in recent weeks, but Allegri's side will be motivated to get the better of their neighbours. Torino have been in good form, but we are backing the home side to rise to the occasion and register a comfortable success.
