Lazio Face Tough Test In Turin As Baroni Seeks First Win Against Juventus

On Saturday evening, Lazio will face Juventus in Turin, with Thiago Motta's side coming off a home draw against Cagliari. Juventus has had a challenging few weeks, with several key players becoming unavailable in a short span, including Bremer, Nico Gonzalez, Koopmeiners, McKennie, and Francisco Conceição, who is suspended. Despite these absences, a trip to Turin remains a difficult task for any Serie A team. Lazio will need to deliver a strong performance if they want to return to Rome with points. Key to this will be the condition of Matteo Guendouzi, who is recovering from a toe injury after two impressive outings with France in the Nations League, leaving his participation in the match uncertain.

After facing Milan and Fiorentina, Marco Baroni will now take on his third big challenge as Lazio's coach, marking his sixth time facing Juventus as a manager. His record includes four losses and one draw, which reflects not just his own teams but the strength of his opponents during his time with Frosinone, Lecce, and Hellas Verona. His first encounter came as Frosinone’s coach in Serie A, where goals from Dybala, Bonucci, and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed a Juventus win. At Lecce, Baroni faced Juventus twice: in the first match, a brilliant strike from Fagioli secured the points for Allegri’s side in a game where Lecce could have earned more. The return leg was similarly tight, with Lecce equalizing through Ceesay's penalty after Paredes’ opener, but Vlahovic quickly restored Juventus' lead, and the second half ended without further goals.

Last season, Baroni came close to his first victory against Juventus. In the first leg, Cambiaso's goal in the 96th minute gave Juventus a dramatic win, but in the return at Bentegodi, Verona secured a 2-2 draw. Folorunsho put Verona ahead, and Vlahovic equalized. In the second half, Noslin gave Verona the lead again, only for Rabiot to level the score for a final 2-2 result.