Juventus vs Bologna Preview: Classic Encounter, Key Battle, Team News, Score Predicition & More

Juventus maintained their perfect start to their Serie A campaign after a Cristiano Ronaldo goal helped them to overcome gutsy Frosinone 2-0 at Stadio Benito

Juventus maintained their perfect start to their Serie A campaign after a Cristiano Ronaldo goal helped them to overcome gutsy Frosinone 2-0 at Stadio Benito Stirpe last Sunday.

Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus - who are chasing an eighth consecutive Italian league title - have now won their opening five league games for the third time in five seasons.

🖐 Talking points from @SerieA win number 5️⃣!

👉 https://t.co/XOMky8df1Z #FrosinoneJuve #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/818WalaVJ1

— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) September 24, 2018

The Turin based club are already three points clear of last seasons biggest challengers Napoli, and five clear of Fiorentina who sit third - is it too early to suggest the Old Lady will be lifting the Scudetto once again? 

Bologna, managed by legendary Italian striker Filippo Inzaghi will eye up another scalp on Wednesday evening after overcoming AS Roma 2-0 at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on Sunday.

Despite sitting 18th in Serie A with four points from five games, the result on Sunday will have provided a much needed dose of confidence to Inzaghi's boys. 

Inzaghi himself scored 57 goals in 120 Serie A appearances for Juve, something which he will be hoping to transfer to his players for the trip to Allianz Stadium.

Classic Encounter

In what will be the 40th match-up between the two sides, we travel back to 26th February 2011 for a rare Bologna victory.

Three players who played in this fixture over seven years ago - Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli could be present for the Old Lady on Wednesday.

Juventus also boasted the likes of Claudio Marchisio, Gianluigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero. Despite a riches of talent, the game provided little spark until Vincenzo Laquinta lashed against the post for the home side.

Luigi Delneri opted for a bold half-time switch up, bringing on both Del Piero and Luca Toni in a bid to open up a stubborn Bologna - the switch worked, just not as the Juve boss envisioned. 

Marco Di Vaio slotted home for the visiting side within five minutes of the restart to further peg back the Turin based side, before coolly adding a second on the 66th, skinning both Bonucci and Grygera before beating Storari at his near post.

Key Battle

Juan Cuadrado vs. Ladislav Krejci

Possibly not the star studded battle you may have been hoping for. However, this duel does have the potential to be pivotal in Wednesday night's match. 

Cuadrado, who is yet to start a home league game for the Old Lady this term, slotted into the right back position gracefully away to Frosinone. Playing 70 minutes before being substituted for Joao Cancelo, Cuadrado had a successful pass completion of 88% and impressed his boss in the process. 

Showing a willingness to get forward, Cuadrado could be key to pinning this Bologna side in their own half with a series of over-lapping runs coupled with pin-point crossing.

However, one man who looks set to start in order to deal with the attacking onus of Cuadrado is Ladislav Krejci.

In what looks set to be a five-man midfield, Krejci will be tasked with the conservative role. Aiming to prevent Cuadrado from getting much joy down the right hand side, Krejci is facing up to more of a fitness test rather than a game of football. 

After only appearing once this term, Krejci will have to bring his A game to the Allianz Stadium in order to stand any chance of stopping the Colombian.

Team News

Allegri confirms in today's press conference that Perin, Bentancur, Matuidi, Dybala & Cristiano Ronaldo will all start vs Bologna. Forza @PauDybala_JR! pic.twitter.com/K4TdaCKcsa

— Tarek Khatib (@ADP1113) September 25, 2018

Juventus - Massimiliano Allegri opted to rest Leonardo Bonucci in Juve's victory at Frosinone and he will probably swap places with Giorgio Chiellini here. 

It is also likely that Blaise Matuidi and Federico Bernardeschi will start after only featuring in the second half in Sunday's victory.

Bologna - Filippo Inzaghi will be without four players for the trip to Juve. Godfred Donsah, Filip Helander and Rodrigo Palacio all miss out through injury whilst Erick Pulgar faces suspension. 

Ladislav Krejci is expected to start in the wide left position to form a five-man midfield, whilst Ferderico Santander is expected to start after scoring his first Serie A goal last weekend against Roma.

Potential Lineups

Juventus: Perin; Cancelo, Bonucci, Rugani, Alex Sandro; Matuidi, Can, Bentacur; Dybala, Ronaldo, Bernardeschi.

Bologna: Skorupski; Calabresi, Danilo, Majo; Krejci, Svanberg, Nagy, Dzemali, Mattiello; Falcinelli, Santander.

Prediction

Juventus head into this fixture in scintillating form, after winning five from five. 

Although, picking up their first and unexpected win of the season, Bologna will have renewed confidence. Despite this, the victory over Roma saw the only two goals scored by the I Rossoblu this season and with Juventus having the joint-second best defence in the league, it's hard to see anything other than a La Vecchia Signora win.

Score Prediction: Juventus 2-0 Bologna