The teams
Juventus FC had an impressive 2-1 victory over Internazionale in the Derby D'Italia in their last Serie A match. Now this weekend, Juve welcome an impressive Bologna FC team that currently sit 11th in the Serie A table. After their win against Inter Milan, Juventus have taken over the top spot in Serie A and surely they are hoping to hang onto that spot for the foreseeable future.
On the other side of the pitch, Bologna had a good start to the season but have fallen a little since. In their last four matches, they have collected two draws and two losses, not nearly good enough to finish in the top half of the table. One thing is for certain about this Bologna side though, they will fight and fight to the very end for their head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic. Mihajlovic has been a key motivator for this squad since he was diagnosed with leukaemia in the summer.
Probable lineups
Juventus (4-3-1-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Juan Cuadrado, Leonardo Bonucci, Matthijs de Ligt, Alex Sandro; Sami Khedira, Miralem Pjanic, Blaise Matuidi; Federico Bernardeschi; Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo
Bologna (4-2-3-1): Lukasz Skorupski; Ibrahima Mbaye, Stefano Denswil, Mattia Bani, Mitchell Dijks; Blerim Dzemaili, Andrea Poli; Riccardo Orsolini, Roberto Soriano, Nicola Sansone; Rodrigo Palacio
Injuries
The Bianconeri still look to be without injured captain Giorgio Chiellini, full-back Mattia De Sciglio and winger Douglas Costa. Though, De Sciglio and Costa look to be getting closer to a return.
Bologna will be without the injured defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, veteran defensive-midfielder Gary Medel and striker Mattia Destro.
Who to watch
From this Juventus team, keep an eye out for Miralem Pjanic and striker Gonzalo Higuain. Pjanic has had a bounce-back season under new head coach Maurizio Sarri, pulling the strings in the midfield and even adding a couple of goals thus far. Pjanic will be key to Juve and Sarri's success this season, just like how Jorginho was important to SSC Napoli and Chelsea FC under Sarri. Higuain is coming off a massive game-winning goal against Inter and he will surely be looking to keep up his scoring streak on Saturday against Bologna.
In the Bologna starting XI look for young winger Riccardo Orsolini and veteran attacker Rodrigo Palacio, as both have been influential in Bologna's success this season. Orsolini, who was previously owned by Juventus, has started all seven matches for Bologna this season and has collected four points during those games. Look for his pace and wonderful dribbling down the right-wing. Palacio, even at 37-years-old continues to make a positive impression on the pitch, leading by example and collecting three points in the process.
Match details
The clash between first-place Juventus and Bologna takes place Saturday evening at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m (GMT+1).
Bologna have had some impressive games thus far, but also have been inconsistent at times. However, they will surely be hoping to steal a result away from the reigning Serie A champions. Although, Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus will have different plans.