Overview
Juventus entered the final round of Serie A in a situation of great pressure, when the opportunity to win a Champions League spot was no longer in their hands.
Just a few weeks ago, they were still considered almost certain to finish in the top 4. However, the latest stumble has caused the Turin team to drop to sixth place in the rankings.
The 0-2 defeat at home to Fiorentina - a team with not many goals left - ended Juventus' 11-match unbeaten streak and put them in a difficult situation before the final round.
To nurture hopes of winning a Champions League spot, Juventus must defeat Torino, while waiting for favorable results from direct competitors such as AC Milan, Como and Roma.
Currently, Juventus has the same 68 points as Como but is ranked below due to losing head-to-head records. They are also two places behind Milan and Roma in the rankings, meaning these two teams need to stumble for Juventus to have a chance to squeeze into the top 4.
Serie A also does not prioritize goal difference to determine the ranking between teams by points, making the situation of the final round particularly complicated with many scenarios that may occur.
If they fail in the Champions League race, this will be the second time in four seasons that Juventus has failed to win a ticket to the most prestigious European arena - a disappointing result for Luciano Spalletti even though he has just had his contract renewed.
When Juventus drew 0-0 with Torino in the first leg in November last year, Spalletti's era had just begun. But now, the Derby della Mole this weekend has a completely different meaning.
This is also the first time since 1929 that the Turin derby has taken place in the final round of Serie A. Head-to-head history is leaning towards Juventus as Torino has only won one of their last 39 encounters with city rivals in Serie A. That rare victory also took place 11 years ago.
However, Torino certainly wants to ruin Juventus' Champions League dream. Just winning one point, they will also surpass last season's point record.
A positive result will also help Torino consolidate 12th place against the pursuit of Parma, Genoa and Fiorentina. However, the recent form of Roberto D'Aversa's team is not really stable. After a 4-match unbeaten streak that helped them soon complete their relegation goal, Torino has lost two of the last three rounds.
Personnel situation
Juventus will enter the Derby della Mole match without the service of Bremer due to the Brazilian center-back being suspended after receiving another yellow card in the previous round.
In addition to Bremer, Juan Cabal and Arkadiusz Milik continue to be absent due to injury. Meanwhile, Khephren Thuram still has to wait for a fitness test before the match kicks off.
On Torino's side, Giovanni Simeone continues to be the biggest hope in attack. The Argentine striker has scored 6 goals against Juventus in Serie A and is in impressive home form when scoring in 5 consecutive recent matches.
Torino has the return of Gvidas Gineitis after suspension, but Guillermo Maripan will be absent for the same reason after receiving a yellow card against Cagliari.
Expected lineup:
Paleari, Coco, Ismajli, Ebosse, Pedersen, Gineitis, Prati, Obrador, Vlasic, Zapata, Simeone.
Di Gregorio, Kalulu, Gatti, Kelly, Cambiaso, Locatelli, Koopmeiners, Conceicao, McKennie, Yildiz, Vlahovic.
The match between Torino and Juventus takes place at 1:45 am on May 25 (Vietnam time).
