Having defeated AC Milan and held Fiorentina to a 2-2 draw on the road, Parma will be looking to claim another major scalp when they host reigning champions Juventus at Ennio Tardini. Meanwhile, the Bianconeri need to continue winning if they are to keep up with amazing AS Roma, which should guarantee us an enthralling encounter on Saturday evening.

Ennio Tardini slowly becoming a fortress

With the team producing some very good displays to end the league campaign in eighth place, the club management didn’t have to make major changes to the playing squad, but they still pulled off quite a coup by signing true Serie A stars Antonio Cassano and Walter Gargano virtually free of charge. The arrival of Fantantonio obviously made Ducali even more dangerous up front, while the Uruguayan has allowed creative midfielders Parolo and Valdes to work their magic without worrying too much about the defensive phase. And while Parma have yet to find their form on the travels (D2 L3), the team have largely impressed at their Ennio Tardini, especially over the last few weeks. Ducali not only defeated Atalanta, Sassuolo and AC Milan, but scored a total of 10 goals in the process, which is enough to suggest that Juventus defenders will have their work cut out for them. And even if the hosts face an uphill task in an attempt to record the fourth straight victory on home soil, chances are that their impressive scoring run at Ennio Tardini is going to continue.

Veteran defender Alessandro Lucarelli returns from suspension, while Jonathan Biabiany, Amauri and Massimo Gobbi should be recalled.

Juventus struggle on the road

Before the season started, Juventus were seen as the number one candidates for yet another Serie A title, but it soon became clear that the Bianconeri could have a much more difficult task than the previous seasons. With Napoli and especially Roma impressing in the opening exchanges, Antonio Conte’s side currently sit in third place despite enjoying a pretty solid start to the league campaign. However, while their 100% record at home remains intact, the team have already suffered two slip-ups on the road, with the 4-2 defeat to Fiorentina especially difficult to swallow. Back to back home wins over Genoa and Catania certainly helped the players restore some of the lost confidence, but there are no doubts Juventus will have to work extremely hard if they are to claim maximum points at Ennio Tardini. While Mirko Vucinic and Fabio Quagliarella remain sidelined, Antonio Conte can be quite happy with his attacking partnership of Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente, although one of them could be given a breather ahead of the all-important match against Real Madrid.

Mirko Vucinic, Simone Pepe, Fabio Quagliarella and Stephan Lichtsteiner are out injured, but Paul Pogba, Andrea Barzagli and Kwadwo Asamoah should be recalled.

Verdict

Having scored no less than ten goals in last three home fixtures, Parma clearly have enough attacking potential to hurt their more illustrious opponents, but it remains to be seen if they can get at least one point from the match. The Bianconeri have been far from impressive on the road and I am not convinced they can win at Ennio Tardini.

Top pick: Both teams to score   1.78 (39/50) @ Unibet

Alternative pick 1: Over 2.5 goals   1.84 (21/25) @ Betfair

Alternative pick 2: Draw   3.80 (14/5) @ William Hill