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Seven days after a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Lazio, a result that almost deprived them of any residual chance to win the Scudetto, Juventus will try to bounce back and keep their slight hopes alive when they face Perugia at the Curi stadium. 

In the preseason forecasts, the Bianconeri were considered as the big favorites to win the Serie A, thanks to the expensive adding of stars like Buffon, Thuram, Nedved and Salas, but things went in a different way. After being kicked out from the Champions League, Lippi's men are seeing their scudetto hopes fading away, as they currently trail league leaders Inter by six points with only five rounds to go. 

This was mainly due to their poor away performances (only four wins in fourteen matches) and this is not good news in view of the Curi match. Actually, Perugia have been looking very effective on their home ground lately and need a few more points, most likely three or four, in order to reach the save. 

TEAM NEWS

-Perugia: two major worries for coach Cosmi, who the hosts will miss suspended defender Di Loreto and left wing-back Grosso, who should be replaced by Sogliano and O'Neill respectively. The young trainer could choose to field a 4-4-2 line-up instead of the usual 3-5-2, moving Zè Maria back on the defensive line. 

Starting line-up (3-5-2): Cordoba; Sogliano, Rezaei, Milanese; Zè Maria, Tedesco, O'Neill, Baiocco, Blasi; Bazzani, Vryzas 
Bench: Tardioli, Samuel, Fusani, Gatti, Ahn, Berrettoni, Samereh

Injured: none, 
Suspended: Di Loreto, Grosso
Cautioned (one more yellow card to be suspended): Blasi

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-Juventus: plenty of troubles for coach Lippi, who will miss injured Salas, Conte, Tudor, Tacchinardi and Paramatti, as well as suspended Iuliano. Anyway, the guests will be boosted by the recovery of French defender Thuram, who is expected to be in the starting eleven. Zenoni should be moved on the midfield line. 

Probable line-up (4-4-2): Buffon; Thuram, Ferrara, Montero, Pessotto; Zenoni, Zambrotta, Davids; Nedved; Del Piero, Trezeguet
Bench: Carini, Birindelli, Frara, Rondinella, Maresca, Zalayeta, Amoruso

Injured: Salas, Tacchinardi, Tudor, Paramatti, Conte
Suspended: Iuliano
Cautioned (one more yellow card to be suspended): Trezeguet, Nedved, Conte

FORM GUIDE & NUMBERS

Perugia last 6 matches: LWLWLD. The hosts keep on showing to be a totally different team at home and on the road. 27 out of Perugia's 37 points came at the Curi stadium, where Cosmi's men have collected four wins and a draw in the last five contests, scoring more than two goals per match. On the contrary, the Grifoni keep on struggling on the road: only two points and one goal scored in the last six trips. 

Overall: 10 W – 7 D – 12 L - Average points per match 1.28 – Goals scored/conceded 32-40
At home: 8 W – 4 D – 2 L – Average points per match 1.93 – Goals scored/conceded 21-11

Juventus last 6 matches: DLWWLD. After the heartbreaking elimination from the Champions League, the Bianconeri had no choice but concentrating their efforts on the Serie A, but the lone point collected in the last two matches sounds almost like a death sentence for Juve's hopes to win the scudetto. After the disappointing defeat against Parma, Lippi's men were unable to defeat Lazio on their home ground, thus stopping an impressive eight-match winning streak at the Delle Alpi stadium. 

Overall: 15 W – 11 D – 3 L - Average points per match 1.93 - Goals scored/conceded 51-23
Away: 4 W – 8 D – 2 L – Average points per match 1.43 - Goals scored/conceded 19-12

PLAYERS TO WATCH

-Perugia: Rehman Rezaei. The Iranian defender is definitely one of the biggest surprises of the season in the Serie A. His duel with Trezeguet should be very attractive, and perhaps determining, as the French striker is by far Juve's biggest offensive weapon. 

Juventus: Alessandro Del Piero. Alex has definitely something to prove in this final part of the season, both for Juve and for the Nazionale. With so many strikers in a great shape (Vieri, Montella, Totti, Di Vaio…) , his ticket to Korea and Japan is not 100% guaranteed…