Venezia-Juventus, for survival and Champions

Survival and the Champions League. Venezia and Juventus need to take a decisive step as they meet each other in Venice. In order to stay up, the hosts must win and hope that Lecce and Empoli both lose. Juventus, meanwhile, would seal a Champions League spot with three points. If the Bianconeri fail to win, their fate will depend on results elsewhere.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

After losing only one of their first seven matches against Juventus in Serie A (W1 D5), Venezia have lost 16 of their last 20 against them in the division (W1 D3); only AC Milan (18) won more games against the Lagunari than the Bianconeri (17) in the top-flight. Venezia's last home win against Juventus in Serie A was in April 1962; since then, there have been four Bianconeri wins and two draws in this exact fixture. However, these two teams could draw two consecutive matches at the Lagunari’s home for the first time since 1940.

DID YOU KNOW?

Venezia have not repeated the same result twice in a row in their last nine league matches (W2 D4 L3), losing at Cagliari in the most recent. Venezia won two of their last three home league games (L1), including their most recent, as many as in their previous 13 beforehand (D5 L6); they could win two consecutive home matches in Serie A for the first time since January 2000 under Luciano Spalletti. Juventus have both won and kept a clean sheet on the final MD in each of the last two league seasons; the last time they had three clean sheets in a row in the last match of a season in Serie A was between 1980-1982, the only time they have done so in their history. Juventus haven’t won any of their four away league matches under Igor Tudor (D3 L1); the last Juventus coach to fail to win any of his first five Serie A away matches in charge was Cestmir Vycpalek (five draws in 1971). 53% of the goals scored by Venezia in Serie A this season have been from set pieces (16/30), a league-high in 2024/25; on the other hand, only Como (12%) had a lower ratio in the current campaign than Juventus (16%).

PLAYERS

Hans Nicolussi Caviglia, who has scored two goals via direct free kicks in Serie A this season (more than any other player), played 11 matches with Juventus in the top flight between 2018/19 and 2023/24. With two assists in the last MD, Kenan Yildiz has been directly involved in 10 goals in Serie A this season (6 goals, 4 assists), becoming the youngest player to reach double figures in the division this term. With him as a starter, Juventus have a points-per-game average of 2.1 this season, which drops to less than half that (1.0) in the 10 matches in which he has not been in the starting line-up. In the last MD, Dusan Vlahovic scored after a run of seven league matches without a goal; before this goalless period, he scored in two appearances in a row against Cagliari and Empoli in February.

DISCIPLINE

Suspended: Idzes (Venezia) Cautioned: Candé, Pérez, Busio (Venezia); Cambiaso, Weah, Locatelli e McKennie (Juventus)

ARBITRI

COLOMBO (COSTANZO – PASSERI) IV: FOURNEAU, VAR: DI PAOLO, AVAR: GUIDA (Photo Getty Images)