Juventus will be looking for their 19th Serie A win of the season when they travel to Lazio on Sunday night.
The Old Lady have collected 56 points from their 20 league fixtures this term to sit nine points clear at the top of Serie A. Lazio, meanwhile, occupy sixth position, but are just two points off fourth-placed AC Milan.
Lazio
© ReutersNine wins, five draws and six defeats - that is how Lazio have performed in Serie A this season. A total of 32 points has left them in sixth position, just two points off fourth-placed AC Milan entering Week 21 in Italy's top flight.
Lazio performed impressively away to Napoli last weekend, but suffered a 2-1 defeat in Naples, meaning that the White and Sky Blues are still without a win against any of Serie A's big-six clubs this season.
Lazio have finished fifth in each of the last two seasons, while they have not made the top four since the 2014-15 campaign. The Champions League positions are just two points away as things stand, but a defeat this weekend would give the likes of Milan and Roma the chance to open up more ground.
Only two teams have managed to prevent Juventus from winning in Serie A this season, while the Old Lady recorded a 2-0 win when the pair met in Turin back in August.
Lazio will again be reliant on Ciro Immobile to score the goals this weekend. The 28-year-old has netted 11 times in Serie A this term and will be tasked with causing the Italian champions problems in Rome.
Simone Inzaghi's team have won five, drawn three and lost two of their 10 home league fixtures this term and becoming the first side to overcome Juventus in Serie A this season would be a huge confidence boost.
A defeat, however, could see Lazio end the weekend as low as eighth in the table and potentially five points off the top four ahead of their next league fixture away to Frosinone at the start of next month.
Recent form: DLWWDL
Recent form (all competitions): LWWDWL
Juventus
© ReutersThere is still a lot of football to be played in Serie A this season, but it is going to take some effort from Napoli to prevent Juventus from winning yet another Italian league title.
Indeed, as it stands, Juventus are nine points clear of second-placed Napoli in the table. Inter Milan occupy third, but the San Siro giants are 16 points off the pace being set at the top of the division.
Only Genoa and Atalanta have prevented Juventus from winning in Serie A this season and they will enter this match off the back of a comfortable 3-0 victory over Chievo in Turin last time out.
Massimiliano Allegri's side also won the Italian Super Cup earlier this month with a 1-0 victory over AC Milan, while they beat Bologna in the Coppa Italia on January 12 to make the quarter-finals of that competition.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been a revelation for the Old Lady this season, scoring 16 times in all competitions, including 14 in Serie A, meaning that he is the leading scorer in Italy's top flight at this stage of the campaign.
The Champions League is the one that Juventus really want this season though and they will travel to Atletico Madrid for the first leg of that is a mouthwatering last-16 tie on February 20.
For now, however, their focus is on domestic football and another win this weekend would move them a step closer to landing their 35th Italian title.
Recent form: WWWDWW
Recent form (all competitions): WDWWWW
Team News
© ReutersLazio will be without the services of key defender Francesco Acerbi, who received a red card in the 2-1 defeat to Napoli last weekend.
Adam Marusic and Luiz Felipe are also likely to miss the match through injury, meaning that Lazio will be forced to put together a make-shift defence, which is hardly ideal against the country's best team.
As mentioned, Immobile will again lead the Lazio line with support from Luis Alberto, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will be looking to make his presence felt in the middle of the park.
As for Juventus, Andrea Barzagli and Mario Mandzukic will again miss out through injury, while Joao Cancelo, Juan Cuadrado, Sami Khedira and Miralem Pjanic are all seen as doubts.
Emre Can should keep his position in the middle of the park, with Douglas Costa also making the XI. Ronaldo will be supported by Paulo Dybala in attack, with Federico Bernardeschi expected to drop to the bench.
Lazio possible starting lineup:
Strakosha; Bastos, Radu, Wallace; Durmisi, Milinkovic-Savic, Leiva, Parolo, Lulic; Alberto, Immobile
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; De Sciglio, Bonucci, Chiellini, Sandro; Can, Bentancur, Matuidi; Dybala, Ronaldo, Costa
Head To Head
As mentioned, Juventus recorded a 2-0 win when the pair met in Turin earlier this season, while the Old Lady ran out 1-0 winners in the corresponding Serie A clash last term.
Lazio have not actually beaten Juventus at home since the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia in 2013, but the White and Sky Blues overcame the Old Lady twice last term, once in the Italian Super Cup and once in Serie A.
We say: Lazio 1-2 Juventus
Lazio are more than capable of causing Juventus problems this weekend, but we are finding it difficult to predict anything other than a narrow away win.
