Torino v Juventus: Buffon on brink of Serie A record

Gianluigi Buffon is four minutes away from setting a Serie A record of 930 minutes without conceding – which would surpass Sebastiano Rossi – in Juventus’ derby at Torino on Sunday.

Massimiliano Allegri’s men – who suffered a heartbreaking Champions League exit in midweek – have already set a milestone by keeping 10 consecutive league clean sheets, the last of which came in Friday’s 1-0 win over Sassuolo.

Now Buffon is on a personal unbeaten streak of 926 minutes, with Rossi’s mark set at 929, as he bids to become the goalkeeper with the longest top-flight run.

Juve go into the match on the back of a morale-sapping defeat to Bayern Munich, in which a 4-2 aggregate lead became a dramatic 6-4 defeat after extra time at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

Domestically they continue to fly, though, and have a three-point lead over closest Scudetto challengers Napoli with nine matches remaining, boasting an unbeaten run that stretches back to October. 

Juve winger Juan Cuadrado is hoping the loss in Germany will drive his team on for the conclusion of the campaign.

“It’s just a shame that we conceded the equaliser with only a couple of minutes left on the clock, but that’s football,” he said. 

“The whole team showed tremendous strength and put Bayern under pressure in both the first and second half of the contest. I’m satisfied with how we played throughout the match. 

“Experiences such as these will serve to help us grow. Now we need to move on from this and focus on the derby against Torino this Sunday.”

Star striker Paulo Dybala (calf) missed the Bayern game and is training individually as he attempts to be passed fit, but Giorgio Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio (both calf) are definitely unavailable.

Torino, who are 13th having only won two of their last 15 league games, will check on Alessandro Gazzi (hamstring).

“We have a squad with a lot of potential that can become excellent, but this year we have been giving away points and entire games,” said head coach Giampiero Ventura after the 3-2 loss at Genoa – which came after his side led by two goals – last time out.

“Perhaps the team needs a little more character.”

Torino won last season’s derby 2-1 at Stadio Olimpico, but that was their only victory from the last 19 league derbies.

They are looking to make it two consecutive home wins over Juve for the first time since 1983, but Allegri’s charges have already beaten them twice this season, 2-1 in the league and 4-0 in the Coppa Italia.

Key Opta Stats:

– Starting with the reverse fixture on October 31, Juventus have gained 55 of a possible 57 points in Serie A.
– Prior to that game, Torino were three points ahead of Juve, but have gained just 18 points since.
– Torino have not won in their last four home league games (D3, L1): the last time they went five without a win was November 2013.
– Juventus have lost only two points from winning positions, fewer than any other team – Torino have gained the most from behind (14).
– Thirteen of Torino’s last 14 goals were scored by either Andrea Belotti (6), Ciro Immobile (5) or Marco Benassi (2): the other one was an own goal.