By Anita Kobylinska
(Reuters) – Juventus could move within a point of the European qualifying places on Saturday, less than three months after a 15-point deduction sent them into mid-table, but their comeback run faces its stiffest test yet away to second-placed Lazio.
Juve began an unbeaten streak of seven games in all competitions shortly after being handed the punishment related to the club’s transfer dealings, starting by eliminating Lazio in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals in early February.
After losing away to AS Roma at the beginning of March, the Turin club embarked on a run of five wins in all competitions.
“To arrive in April and be in all competitions, even if we’re out of the Champions League, is important,” coach Massimiliano Allegri said on Tuesday after a 1-1 first-leg draw at home to Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
“If we’re good, we’ll go and play for the Europa League. Otherwise, it will mean that Sporting were stronger. For a club it’s important to achieve qualification for the next Champions League”.
With that goal seeming more achievable by winning Europe’s second-tier competition, the first-leg of their quarter-final at home to Sporting on April 13 has added importance. Juve got past Nantes and Freiburg, while conceding just once.
Their midfield and defence could get a boost on Saturday from the returning Paul Pogba and Leonardo Bonucci respectively, who trained with the squad on Wednesday and Thursday, Italian media reported, and could be available against Lazio.
The Rome side can also be satisfied with form that has put them on 55 points, 16 adrift of leaders Napoli. A win against Juve could boost the gap over AC Milan in third to seven points.
Although Maurizio Sarri’s side were knocked out of the Europa Conference League by AZ Alkmaar in the last 16, they have been on a run of six Serie A games without conceding a goal, securing a win in five of them.
If they manage one more clean sheet they will equal the club’s longest such run in the competition which came between February and March 1998 under Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Lazio will take heart from having the best Serie A defence so far this season, with 19 goals against after 28 games, as they try to beat Juve for the first time since December 2019.
Fourth-placed Inter Milan will look to return to winning ways after five games without a win in all competitions when they travel to lowly Salernitana on Friday.
Simone Inzaghi’s side have 50 points, one point behind rivals Milan who host Empoli on the same day.
Napoli, still recovering from their shock 4-0 home thrashing by Milan last week, on Friday visit Lecce, who have slipped to 16th following their losing run of five games.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)
