The Ligurian is to oversee the Bianconeri for the fourth time in his career on Sunday afternoon in Turin

Davide Massa will take charge of Sunday’s 15.00 CET kick-off against Chievo at Juventus Stadium.

The Ligurian official has already presided over three previous Bianconeri fixtures in his career, with two victories and a draw the record under his stewardship.

He will be supported on Sunday afternoon by assistants Giallatini and Stalloni, goal-line officials Tommasi and Pasqua and fourth official Preti.

The Gialloblu are in the midst of a four-game unbeaten run on the road and began their away campaign with a memorable 1-0 success versus Napoli at the San Paolo

With last season’s away record seeing them only pick up 16 points out of a possible 57 on the road, an all-round improvement was needed in this 2014/15 campaign for a Chievo outfit who only escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth last time out.

Buoyed by a host of new signings, they began their season away from the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi with a bang when former striker Maxi Lopez’s finish ensured a sterling 1-0 success over Napoli at the San Paolo in September.

However, Chievo were brought straight back down to earth in their following encounters as Sampdoria (2-1), Milan (2-0), Roma (3-0) and Palermo (1-0) all came away with the points. That defeat at the hands of the Giallorossi proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Eugenio Corini’s second stint at the helm, with Rolando Maran drafted in as his replacement.

November’s international break appeared to do the Gialloblu some good though, as a 1-1 draw away at Udinese in their first game back heralded the start of a four-match unbeaten streak outside of Verona.

Maran’s men then enjoyed a 2-0 victory in Cagliari before ending 2014 with a 1-0 success in the Verona derby, courtesy of top scorer Alberto Paloschi’s strike nine minutes from time.

With their home form proving to be a sticking point (their record currently reads one victory, four draws and five defeats), Dejan Lazarevic’s last-gasp equaliser in this month’s 1-1 away draw at 10-man Atalanta could prove to be priceless come the end of the campaign.

The Gialloblu’s status in next season’s Serie A may also hinge on how their record away from the Bentegodi continues until May 2015.

And if they were to head to the home of the reigning champions and bring back all three points this weekend, thus equalling their win total from last season, it would go some way to keeping them dining at the top table of Italian football for a seventh successive season.

juventus.com

Six areas of interest ahead of Sunday’s meeting with the Gialloblu

Each week Juventus.com will be equipping supporters with a six-step guide to upcoming Serie A games.

Packed full of stats collated from the first half of the season, curiosities, historic meetings and links between the teams, this feature is a must-read for those wishing to get up to speed on the Bianconeri’s opponents.

Here’s the first installment, focusing on Sunday afternoon’s visitors Chievo.

1. Getting out of the blocks

A major factor behind the Bianconeri’s strong form so far this campaign has been their ability to burst out the traps quickly, making them Serie A’s most prolific team in the first 15 minutes of games with nine strikes to date. Twice this term, against Cagliari and Verona, they have even managed to take a two-goal lead in this period.

In contrast, Chievo have struggled to impose themselves in the early stages of games, netting just four inside the opening quarter of an hour. This inertia is extended to first halves in general, in which they have drawn a blank in 16 of 19 played so far.

2. Set piece specialists

One area Massimiliano Allegri will be briefing his men on is Chievo’s efficiency from dead ball situations, Serie A’s top team for converting from indirect free-kicks (four).

All have come from deliveries into the box, with Alberto Paloschi, Ervin Zukanovic, Sergio Pellissier and Riccardo Meggiorini on hand to pick up the pieces.

Meanwhile, Martin Caceres’ header from Andrea Pirlo’s inswinging set piece, which restored the Bianconeri’s lead in Naples, remains the team’s only goal to have stemmed from an indirect free-kick this term.

3. Paying the penalty

The Gialloblu join Udinese as one of only two teams who have yet to be awarded a penalty this season. Juventus have converted all of their four given to date, with Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez each bagging braces from the spot.

4. Contrasting strikeforces

Sunday’s match-up marks the meeting of Serie A’s most potent and weakest attacks (Juventus 42, Chievo 14). The Gialloblu sit alongside Cesena as the league’s only teams who have yet to score more than two in a game.

Historically speaking, Sergio Pellissier is the Chievo man to have wreaked most havoc in the Juventus rearguard, striking four in total. These include a memorable hat-trick in April 2009, when the Gialloblu held the hosts to a 3-3 draw at the Stadio Olimpico. He will be hoping for the tide to turn, however, as he has failed to find the target in each of his last six appearances against the Bianconeri.

Curiously enough, this season’s top scorer Alberto Paloschi is maintaining a career trend of scoring more goals on the road than in front of his own crowd, with three of his four strikes this term coming away from Verona.

5. Eyes on the five

Rolando Maran’s men approach Sunday’s encounter with their sights set on recording a fifth unbeaten game on the road for the first time since 2009.

6. Familiar faces

One stop on Andrea Barzagli’s rise to the pinnacle of Serie A stardom came at Chievo, where he made 29 Serie A appearances in the 2003/04 season, scoring three goals.

For the Gialloblu, Marcelo Estigarribia returns to the city where he earned a Scudetto winnners’ medal after spending the 2011/12 campaign on loan in Turin. He appeared 14 times in the top flight for Antonio Conte’s side, striking once.

Massimiliano Allegri reunites his ranks for a solitary afternoon session on the Vinovo training pitches

The Bianconeri pushed on with their build-up towards Sunday’s Serie A clash with Chievo during this afternoon’s training session at Juventus Center.

After splitting the squad into separate groups yesterday morning, Massimiliano Allegri reunited his ranks for a solitary workout focusing on the specific movements to adopt against the 17th placed Gialloblu at Juventus Stadium this weekend.

Defender Andrea Barzagli, who conducted the lion’s share of yesterday’s session alongside his team-mates, increased his time with the group today, while Andrea Pirlo missed out after reporting a light dose of flu.

Gigi Buffon, however, was back at Juventus Center for gym work after battling back from the flu-like symptoms suffered on Wednesday.

Tomorrow will see the Bianconeri conduct their penultimate preparations for the visit of Rolando Maran’s men, with a morning session pencilled in for the reigning champions.