Palermo vs Juventus: Preview and Prediction

Palermo vs Juventus
2016/17 Italian Serie A.
Date: Saturday, 24 September 2016
Kick-Off: 17:00 UK,
Venue: Stadio Renzo Barbera (Palermo).

Having finally ended their long wait for a win, Palermo now will be hoping to end their long-standing hoodoo against Juventus when they welcome the Bianconeri to the Stadio Renzo Barbera this Saturday.

The Rosanero barely escaped relegation last season and will be naturally hoping to avoid a repeat of that this time around. New coach Roberto De Zerbi – who is already Palermo’s second manager after just five rounds – will be cautiously satisfied after their hard-fought 1-0 win over Atalanta, courtesy of a late goal by Ilija Nestorovski. Yet, at the same time, he will also be well aware that the odds are heavily stacked against the Sicilian side given that they have not beaten Juventus in over five years.

Meanwhile, despite suffering a surprise 2-1 loss to Inter, La Vecchia Signora re-asserted themselves with a resounding victory against Cagliari. Massimiliano Allegri’s men cruised to a very comfortable 4-0 result at Juventus Stadium. They now are back on top of the table after Napoli were held to a surprise scoreless draw with Genoa. And Allegri could opt to rotate with a trip to Zagreb for Champions League action coming up this week.

Patrice Evra has been added to Juve’s injury list heading into this fixture, and the experienced French defender joins the still-recovering Claudio Marchisio as well as Mehdi Benatia on the sidelines. The Bianconeri will surely be looking to close this game down quickly as they are already looking ahead to improving on the European front following their 0-0 draw with Sevilla on matchday one.

Palermo vs Juventus Head-to-head statistics

• Palermo’s last win against Juventus was on February 2, 2011.
• Since then, the Rosanero have not just lost their past eight meetings but also have failed to score a single goal.
• Juventus have scored over 2.5 goals in six out of their last seven games.
• The Rosanero (ranked 16th) have won only two out of their last 20 home games against teams ranked higher than them in the table (losing 14, drawing four).
• La Vecchia Signora have only lost two out of their past 20 away fixtures against teams ranked lower than them in the table (winning 16, drawing two).

Palermo vs Juventus: Prediction

Allegri could opt to field some of his second-string players in order to keep key faces well-rested ahead of their Champions League tie in midweek. Barring a shocking collapse, this should be a very straightforward win for Juventus. The Bianconeri haven’t lost in over five in a half years, and more important, have not conceded a goal during that time period.

Palermo’s morale will naturally be higher after finally winning a game, and they will try to hunker down to keep things at 0-0 for as long as possible. However, their resistance will be eventually broken and in all honesty, La Vecchia Signora will have no problem leaving Sicily with all three points in hand.

Palermo vs Juventus: Betting Tips

Juventus to win first half at 4/5 (1.80)
Both Teams To Score – NO 4/7 (1.57).