Serie A: Rejuvenated Juventus Target Another Turin Derby Triumph

Torino vs Juventus

Juventus are slowly but surely getting back on track after their rough start under Massimiliano Allegri. The Bianconeri have recorded back-to-back wins in Serie A and also pulled off a big win over European champions Chelsea in midweek.

Juve will now be gunning for their third league win in a row when they take on their old foes, Torino, in the Turin Derby.

Torino are in the midst of their own unbeaten run and would love nothing more than to defy the Serie A 2021 betting odds and get one over on the Old Lady of Turin.

Talking Points

Juventus returning to winning ways under Allegri

Massimiliano Allegri is finally righting the ship on his return to Juventus. After going winless in his first four league games, Allegri has now led Juve to back-to-back 3-2 league wins over Spezia and Sampdoria.

The Bianconeri also scored their best result of the season thus far as they beat Chelsea 1-0 in midweek. They did so despite missing their top two forwards, Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata, due to injury.

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Allegri opted to play with a 4-3-3 against Chelsea with no out-and-out striker. Federico Bernardeschi played in the centre with Federico Chiesa and Juan Cuadrado on either side. That unorthodox formation worked out in the end as Bernardeschi and Chiesa combined to score the winning goal.

With both Dybala and Morata expected to be out until after the international break, it remains to be seen whether Allegri sticks with this formation against Torino. Strikers Moise Kean and Dejan Kulusevski are the obvious candidates to come into the side should Allegri decide to make a change.

Meanwhile, Allegri will also be pleased to see his Juventus side keep their second straight clean sheet in Europe and will be keen to bring that form over to Serie A. Juve, who have built much of their success over the years through their steadfast defending, have not kept a clean sheet in their last 20 league matches, which is a staggering statistic.

Torino thriving despite Belotti absence

After battling relegation in each of the last two seasons, Torino have picked up some promising Serie A 2021 results to start to this campaign. They are currently up in ninth place and are unbeaten in their last four games, with two wins and two draws.

They could have picked up even more points had they managed to hold onto their leads against Lazio and Venezia. However, they had to settle for 1-1 draws after conceding late penalties on both occasions.

Torino are expected to thrive even without captain Andrea Belotti in their Serie A match against Juventus — Torino’s Andrea Belotti celebrates with Simone Verdi during their match against Atalanta

Centre-back Koffi Djidji, who conceded both equalising penalties, will be suspended for the derby after getting sent off against Venezia.

Djidji’s absence adds another name to Torino’s long list of absentees. Captain and star striker Andrea Belotti has missed the last month, while Simone Zaza, Marko Pjaca and midfielder Dennis Praet were all out against Venezia due to injury. Belotti and Zaza were the two top scorers for Torino last season as they combined for 19 goals.

Pjaca – who is on loan from Juventus – is Torino’s current leading scorer with two goals, and it would be a big blow if he misses out again. But fellow Croatian Josip Brekalo stepped up to score their opening goal against Venezia and will likely be one of Torino’s main attacking threats against Juve.

History

This will be the 246th staging of the Derby della Mole. Juventus still have a sizable 107-73 lead in terms of wins, with 65 draws.

They have extended their advantage significantly after years of dominance. Juve have won 17 out of their last 22 league derbies, with four draws and just one defeat. Torino’s last victory came all the way back in 2015.

Although, they did play Juve to a 2-2 draw at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino last season. Antonio Sanabria scored twice to give Torino the lead after Federico Chiesa had put Juve in front. But Cristiano Ronaldo scored an equaliser 11 minutes from time.

Betting Tip

	Torino vs Juventus	1X2 Juventus @ 1.95
	October 3, 00:00 (GMT+8)

SBOTOP odds have Juventus as 1.95 favourites to win the derby, with Torino priced at 3.95 on their home field. A draw is at 3.30.

Juventus as currently priced seem like stellar value for the win. They are finally getting their act together under Allegri, and their confidence should be sky-high after beating Chelsea.

Even without Dybala or Morata, there is still too much quality in this Juve side and they should still find a way to defeat a beat-up Torino side missing a number of key players.