Preview : Catania vs Juve

Who: Catania (21 pts) v Juventus (35 pts)
When: Saturday January 12, 2008, 20:30 CET
Where: Stadio Angelo Massimino, Catania

With Serie A action returning after the Christmas break, the second of the Saturday games sees high-flying Juventus travel south for a tricky tie against mid-table Catania.

Three points are a must for the Old Lady if they wish to maintain any Scudetto hopes, whereas Catania will be looking to continue their strong home form which has helped them to 9th place, well away from the drop zone.

Catania on a roll at the Massimino

The Sicilians have a 5-1-2 record on their home turf, which means that 16 of their 21 league points have been earned at the Stadio Massimino.

Most recently, home victories over Udinese (2-0) and in the local derby against Palermo (3-1) indicate another sturdy performance by the Rossazzurri is on the cards when the Bianconeri roll into town.

With the January transfer window now open, reports suggest that defender Juan Manuel Vargas could be leaving Sicily for bigger and better things.

According to Catania’s administrative delegate Pietro Lo Monaco, Roma are the favourites to capture the signature of the young Peruvian known as the club’s ‘Roberto Carlos.’ Despite this distraction, the Christmas break may have provided Catania with the respite needed ahead of a tough set of fixtures.

After the Juventus challenge, Catania host Milan in the second leg of their Coppa Italia tie, holding on to a 2-1 lead from the first leg at the San Siro. This midweek fixture is followed up by a weekend trip to the capital to face Roma. Can Catania continue this brilliant home form into the New Year, starting with Juventus this weekend?

But more importantly, can they turn around their disastrous away form, starting with Roma next weekend? Testing times for coach Silvio Baldini and co…

Juventus aiming high

At the beginning of the 2007/08 season, predictions regarding Juventus’ Serie A prospects ranged from being a mid-table outfit to a potential Champions League qualifier. However, the Bianconeri now seem almost certain to finish with a place in Europe’s biggest club competition, especially with AC Milan well behind in the race for the top four.

Can they go one better? Eight points separate Juventus from arch-nemesis and runaway leaders Inter Milan. Nonetheless, the gap would be closer if not for poor officiating in away games against Napoli and Parma.

In fact, Claudio Ranieri’s men last tasted a league defeat back in October, in that controversial match against Napoli. This level of consistency, if maintained, will keep Inter on their toes and the title race wide open.

The opening of the January transfer window has seen Juventus chase down Liverpool’s out of favour midfielder Mohamed Sissoko and Hamburg’s Dutch sensation Rafael van der Vaart. The club is also reportedly in the race for Catania’s Vargas. There are even reports that former Juventino Gianluca Zambrotta may return to his former club.

On the flip side, it appears as if flop signing Tiago may be leaving the club he joined just months ago. The transfer period is proving to be an exciting time in Turin. Nonetheless, Ranieri will be keen to ensure the transfer rumours do not effect the team’s performance as points dropped in games such as this Catania fixture will see the Bianconeri out of the Scudetto race sooner rather than later…

FORM GUIDE

Catania

Reggina 3-1 Catania L Serie A December 23

Milan 1-2 Catania W Coppa Italia December 20

Catania 2-0 Udinese W Serie A December 15

Lazio 2-0 Catania L Serie A December 8

Catania 3-1 Palermo W Serie A December 2

Napoli 2-0 Catania L Serie A November 25

Juventus

Juventus 2-0 Siena W Serie A December 23

Lazio 2-3 Juventus W Serie A December 15

Juventus 1-0 Atalanta W Serie A December 9

Empoli 2-1 Juventus L Coppa Italia December 6

Milan 0-0 Juventus D Serie A December 1

Juventus 5-0 Palermo W Serie A November 25


sumber : goal.com