Juventus look to continue march up the table - but will need to be wary of tricky Sampdoria

Topics: TV Schedules, Sampdoria, Juventus, Serie A

After some bumps in the road, Juventus have finally started inching up the table, but could face a tricky test against a Sampdoria side who have improved recently.

Preview: Sampdoria vs Juventus

Currently sitting in 10th place, Sampdoria will be feeling good after wins from their last two games. Although the victories were against 19th-placed Parma and an Udinese side who've struggled this term, the Blucerchiati have picked up three wins from their last four matches. Furthermore, Juventus will not want to take this clash lightly as Claudio Ranieri's side have already beaten Inter this term. In fact, their 2-1 result ended an eight-game winning streak for the Nerazzurri, making the Blucerchiati the first side to beat Antonio Conte's team since Milan won the Derby della Madonnina on October 17th.

However, the Bianconeri do come into this match having kept clean sheets in their last three matches across all comps. As expected, they cruised to an easy 4-0 win in the Coppa Italia over Serie B outfit SPAL, but their confidence will be boosted thanks to beating Napoli 2-0 in the Supercoppa Italiana to earn Andrea Pirlo his first trophy as manager of La Vecchia Signora. Cristiano Ronaldo set a new football record thanks to his goal against the Partenopei, and now the Portuguese ace will be looking to add to his 760 career goals as he returns to the starting XI for this match.

Juventus presently sit in fourth spot, but still have a game in hand. A win here would temporarily move them up into third place, ahead of Roma's home tie against Hellas Verona later on Sunday. Despite dominating the footballing landscape for nearly a decade, Juventus now find their battle to earn a tenth straight Scudetto to be a lot trickier than expected, with Milan and Inter now back in the fold after struggling during that same time frame. Indeed, this season's title race, which has the biggest teams in Serie A plus dark horses Roma all battling for the Scudetto, has shaped up to be much more interesting than many fans had expected.

Team news: Sampdoria vs Juventus

Sampdoria: Only Manolo Gabbiadini remains out for Sampdoria, which will let Ranieri field his strongest

Juventus: As for the visitors, they also have a pretty clean bill of health. Only Paulo Dybala is a definite absentee, although Rodrigo Bentacur could miss this if he doesn't fully recover from his foot injury in time. Meanwhile, Dejan Kulusevski will have to miss this tie due to a ban.

Match facts: Sampdoria vs Juventus

Sampdoria have drawn just two of their last 19 matches - making the Blucerchiati rank only behind Napoli (1) in terms of games finishing as a stalemate
Juventus have won their last three matches against Sampdoria across all comps