A remodelled Juventus XI, fashioned out of a squad decimated by injury, scrape over the line in Turin, as they sat in and preserved their early lead against modest opposition. Though hardly the scintillating stuff of potential Scudetto winners, the Bianconeri close the gap on both Milan clubs and Napoli - at least temporarily - and Allegri will surely claim that the end justifies the means. Spezia, meanwhile, put up a spirited showing in the second half, but having previously taken big Serie A scalps this term, may ultimately wonder if they could have done more in the first 45 to upset their hosts.
Having extended their unbeaten streak in Serie A, Juventus travel to Marassi next week, where they meet another struggling side, Sampdoria. That will be followed by a return to Champions League action, with the second leg of their tie versus Villarreal. Meanwhile, 16th-placed Spezia next meet Cagliari in a crucial battle at the bottom.
That's all from Turin today, so thank you for joining us and goodbye!
Cronaca
Formazioni
Statistiche
90'+4'
FULL-TIME: JUVENTUS 1-0 SPEZIA19:54
90'+3'
A rugged challenge on Morata brings about a booking for Spezia substitute Bourabia.19:53
90'+1'
Again, Agudelo manages to break free in the final third, but his shot from the right side of the area is scuffed wide of the near post and crashes into the advertising hoardings behind the Juventus goal.19:52
89'
MISS! Cuadrado turns his marker inside out on the right wing; whipping in a dangerous low cross along the six-yard box, which somehow Morata contrives to miss with his left foot at the back post. There are heads in hands on the Juventus bench!19:51
87'
A crossfield ball by Morata picks out an adventurous run from Cuadrado down the right, but the winger's shot spirals well over Provedel's goal.19:48
85'
Unable to add to his goal tally in the Capocannoniere contest with Ciro Immobile, Vlahovic is replaced by Kean for the final few minutes.19:46
82'
From 25 yards out on the right, Verde strikes his free-kick at the top of the defensive wall. However, Juventus can't clear their lines, and De Ligt heads the ball straight into the path of Ferrer, who slices his attempt over the bar from the edge of the area.19:44
80'
SHARP SAVE! Closing down the angle, Szczesny dives to his right to block an Agudelo shot from close range, on the left side of the area. That was an excellent opening for the Spezia winger, who may regret spurning such a chance.19:42
78'
A visibly frustrated Vlahovic is outfought by Reca as the pair chase down a ball towards the byline, and Spezia have a goal-kick. It has been a particularly quiet game for the Serbian striker.19:39
76'
Spezia substitute their skipper, as Maggiore makes way for Bourabia in midfield.19:36
76'
After an unproductive outing, Manaj is taken off; replaced by Kovalenko.19:36
75'
After Bernardeschi sees an attempt blocked, Morata picks up the ball and has a pop at goal. The ball is deflected behind for a Juve corner.19:35
73'
It continues to be a laboured performance from Juventus - their skipper, Cuadrado, aside - as they simply sit lifelessly inside their own half, apparently waiting for the final whistle.19:34
71'
Reca crosses to Manaj on the edge of the box, and the latter attempts an unlikely left-footed volley, which he scuffs wide of the right-hand post.19:31
69'
Manaj collides with two Bianconeri jerseys in the Juventus area, as a straight ball drifts over his head. The on-loan Barcelona striker has been starved of service today.19:30
67'
For a foul on Agudelo, the recently arrived Bernardeschi is now booked. That will see him suspended next week.19:28
65'
Spezia have never before lost four in a row during their brief Serie A history - which only began in the summer of 2020 - but are less than half an hour away from facing that fate today. The Aquilotti have improved their possession share to 48 percent during the second half, and had three shots on target to Juve's none, so are at least making a fight of it.19:26
63'
Juventus make the first change, as the recently booked Pellegrini makes way for Bernardeschi, who is just back from injury.19:22
61'
The referee has certainly found his pocket since the break: when Agudelo's counter-attack is ended by a Pellegrini clip, the latter becomes the latest man to see yellow.20:07
59'
Much to his visible displeasure, an animated Motta is booked for either dissent or entering the field of play - or both!19:19
57'
Erlic has been busy in the opening stages of the second half, and after he is unfairly challenged by Vlahovic, his opponent is shown a yellow card.19:18
56'
Again involved, Verde picks up the ball midway through the Juventus half, on the right. Twenty yards out, he drops a shoulder and curls an ultimately harmless shot at goal, which Szczesny plucks out of the air with ease.19:16
54'
For coming through the back of Morata with an awkward challenge in midfield, Erlic is booked by the referee.19:14
53'
Erlic is forced into a desparate block in the area, as Morata drives a shot at goal from just inside the box.19:13
51'
SAVE! Ferrer stands up a ball to the back post from the right, and Gyasi surprisingly rises highest; diverting a header down towards the bottom corner, which Szczesny is equal to.19:12
49'
It remains a case of ponderous passing at the back by Juventus, and their opponents have been encouraged by such passivity - they are pushing on in search of an equaliser.19:10
47'
After a quiet first half, Verde has been able to get on the ball a couple of times since the break, and Rabiot clips him inside the Juventus half to concede a free-kick. Already, this is better from Spezia.19:07
46'
We are back under way at the Allianz Stadium!19:04
If they can see out the second half against off-colour opponents, a Juventus win would take them within four points of both Napoli and Milan, who meet later today - in the process, extending their Serie A unbeaten streak to a 14th game for the first time since 2019.19:01
Though the half largely lacked inspiration, Juventus will be pleased to take a one-goal lead down the tunnel at the interval, having controlled the opening 45 minutes. The hosts played cautiously and at a pedestrian tempo, but were never really threatened by an apparently overawed Spezia side. Having beaten both Milan and Napoli earlier this season, that will certainly disappoint Thiago Motta, who will expect his men to more fully test Juve's makeshift back line after the break.18:54
45'+1'
HALF-TIME: JUVENTUS 1-0 SPEZIA18:49
44'
Increasingly influential, Locatelli flips an excellent first-time ball through for Vlahovic, who is caught narrowly offside. 18:48
42'
From the corner, the ball eventually drops to Ferrer 30 yards from goal, but the full-back's attempt flies well over the bar.18:47
41'
Reca makes some rare progress down the left wing; forcing a back-tracking Danilo to block his cross behind for Spezia's first corner.18:46
38'
Stretching every sinew, Vlahovic just fails to latch on to a dinked return pass from Locatelli towards the six-yard box, allowing Provedel to gather the ball.18:43
36'
Without threatening to blow their opponents away, Juventus are starting to take a stronger hold on proceedings, which are now taking place primarily in Spezia's half. Could the hosts extend their lead before the break?18:42
34'
Finding himself unmarked on the right flank once again, Juve captain Cuadrado overhits his cross to the back post, which drifts harmlessly over the Spezia crossbar. 18:40
32'
SAVE! Provedel at least partly redeems himself for effectively setting up the Juventus goal, as he dives low to his left to keep out a Cuadrado shot from the edge of the area.18:38
30'
Hardly played at a pulsating pace before the goal, this game has lapsed into training ground mode since. Neither side is prepared to take risks. 18:36
28'
While Juventus have only edged the possession (55 per cent) and duels won (56 per cent) statistics so far, it is telling that they lead Spezia by four shots to none. The visitors have simply posed no attacking threat.18:34
26'
Pellegrini is in for some further close attention, as Nikolau takes him down with a strong sliding challenge in midfield. That was a well-timed tackle, though, and no free-kick is awarded.18:32
24'
After a minute or so down on the turf, Pellegrini gets back to his feet and rejoins the fray.18:30
23'
With Pellegrini sprinting into space, Gyasi clearly raises his arm to block him off; conceding a free-kick. The Spezia winger was perhaps a little lucky to avoid the game's first booking there.18:29
21'
Locatelli received the ball on the edge of the area and quickly transferred it into the path of Morata, who stroked home the opener.18:27
21'
JUVE LEAD! A clumsy clearance by Provedel falls straight to a Bianconeri shirt in midfield, allowing Vlahovic and Locatelli to combine, and play in Morata on the left side of the box. The Spanish striker stays calm and fires home the opening goal past the goalkeeper's despairing dive! Juventus 1-0 Spezia!
Locatelli is caught marginally offside from Danilo's throughball on the right side of the area, so a potential Juventus corner is denied.18:24
17'
CLOSE! Following some sweet footwork from Cuadrado down the right flank, the Colombian winger jinks into the box; cutting the ball back for Arthur to strike from the edge of the box. However, his goalbound shot is blocked inside the six-yard box. 18:22
15'
Erlic brings down Morata with a late challenge, finally ending a period of dominance for the away side. Juve never looked in trouble, but were forced to sit back and soak up the pressure.18:20
13'
In their first concerted spell of pressure, Spezia pin their hosts deep inside their own half, but can't quite find an incisive pass. 18:19
11'
Juventus are patiently building from midfield, but are met with resistance from the Spezia back four. It has certainly been a slow burner so far.18:17
9'
Finally, Spezia make it into the offensive third, but Reca overhits his cross from the left and Szczesny claims the ball at his back post, unchallenged.18:13
7'
From Pellegrini's free-kick, Morata can only steer a tame shot straight at Provedel, who comfortably catches the ball in the centre of his goal.18:11
6'
Receiving the ball inside the final third, Morata is caught from behind by Nikolau, and Juventus have a free-kick 35 yards from goal.18:10
4'
Juve have the first corner, which Cuadrado clips into the near post, but Erlic manages to intervene and Spezia get the ball away to relative safety.18:08
3'
As expected, Juventus have been controlling possession in the early stages, and their expected switch to a 3-5-2 seems to be confirmed: Pellegrini and Cuadrado playing the wing-back roles.18:07
1'
We are under way in Turin!18:03
The players are out under the floodlights for this battle of the Bianconero, with Juventus in their traditional black-and-white stripes; Spezia sporting bright orange.18:02
While striker M'bala Nzola is out injured and both Jakub Kiwior and Kelvin Amian are unavailable due to suspension, Spezia have a far shorter list of absentees compared to their hosts. Regular starter Manaj is back from a one-match ban and replaces Nzola up front, with Agudelo and Ferrer also coming into Thiago Motta's starting lineup.17:57
Juventus have been beset by injuries of late, and that continues today, as both Leonardo Bonucci and Paulo Dybala are sidelined. The pair join a long list of absentees for the hosts, who fail to fill their bench. Federico Chiesa, Alex Sandro, Weston McKennie, Mattia De Sciglio, Denis Zakaria and Giorgio Chiellini are all unavailable to Allegri, but Rugani and Bernardeschi are now ready to feature - the former starts. Meanwhile, up front, Vlahovic scored a hat-trick for Fiorentina when he last met Spezia, back in October.17:53
SUBS: Jeroen Zoet, Viktor Kovalenko, Suf Podgoreanu, Aurelien Nguiamba, David Strelec, Nicolo Bertola, Aimar Sher, Mehdi Bourabia, Petar Zovko, Petko Hristov, Janis Antiste.17:47
SPEZIA (4-3-3): Ivan Provedel; Salva Ferrer, Dimitris Nikolaou, Martin Erlic, Arkadiusz Reca; Simone Bastoni, Giulio Maggiore, Kevin Agudelo; Daniele Verde, Rey Manaj, Emmanuel Gyasi.17:45
SUBS: Carlo Pinsoglio, Mattia Perin, Marley Ake, Moise Kean, Fabio Miretti, Diego Stramaccioni, Matias Soule, Federico Bernardeschi.17:42
JUVENTUS (3-5-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Matthijs de Ligt, Daniele Rugani; Juan Cuadrado, Arthur, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Luca Pellegrini; Dusan Vlahovic, Alvaro Morata.17:40
Ahead of today's contest, struggling Spezia have lost three games on the spin; ending an encouraging ascent of the table since the turn of the year. Last Sunday, the 10-man Aquilotti came within moments of securing a point against Roma, but their Serie A survival hopes took a late blow when Tammy Abraham slotted a stoppage-time penalty past goalkeeper Ivan Provedel. The Ligurians have lost all three of their previous games against Juventus in the top flight; conceding at least three times on each occasion.17:36
Today's game follows a successful seven days for Juventus, as they followed a 3-2 win over Empoli last weekend by snatching a late winner in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday. Now unbeaten in 13 straight Serie A games, the first leg of their semi-final tie with Fiorentina ended with a one-goal advantage for the Bianconeri. Still not totally out of Scudetto contention, Max Alllegri's men sit fourth in the standings - three points above fifth-placed Atalanta, but eight points beneath the summit.17:34
Hello and welcome to live coverage of today's Serie A encounter between Juventus and Spezia at the Allianz Stadium, Turin!17:31
Dove si gioca la partita:
Stadio: Allianz Stadium Città: Torino Capienza: 41507 spettatori17:31
Juventus - Spezia is a match of 28 day of the season Serie A 2021/2022. The match will be 6 march at 15:00 in the stadium Allianz Stadium in Torino. Referee of Juventus - Spezia will be Francesco Fourneau with the help of Dario Cecconi e Domenico Rocca. At VAR there will be Paolo Silvio Mazzoleni.
Currently Juventus is 4° in the standings with 53 points (thanks of 15 wins, 8 draws and 5 defeats); while Spezia is 16° in the standings with 26 points (thanks of 7 wins, 5 pareggi and 16 sconfitte). Juventus scored 42 goals and conceded 25; Spezia scored 28 goals and conceded 50. The first leg Spezia - Juventus was played on 22 semptember 2021 and it ended on a 2-3 score.
At home Juventus scored 27 points (8 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses). Away Spezia scored 14 points (4 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses). Juventus in the last three matches of the season challenged Torino, Empoli and Spezi obtaining 7 points thanks to 2 wins, 1 draw and 0 losses. Spezia in the last three matches of the season challenged Fiorentina, Bologna and Rom obtaining 0 points. In the last match Juventus was against Spezia winning 1-0 while Spezia was against Roma losing 0-1. The best scorer of the team coached by Massimiliano Allegri is Dusan Vlahovic with 20 goals while the best scorer of the team coached by Thiago Motta is Daniele Verde with 5 goals.
Juventus and Spezia competed 3 times in the league. In the previous matches Juventus won 3 times, Spezia never won while there have never been draws.
These are the statistics of the two teams in the matches played in the season:
Where to see Juventus-Spezia You can see the live match Juventus-Spezia here on Virgilio Sport starting 15:00 CET of 6 march. Discover who will broadcast live Juventus - Spezia between Sky and Dazn.
