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Can Cristiano Ronaldo rejuvenate title-chasing Juventus in Verona?

Continuing his dominance in the race for the Serie A golden boot, Cristiano Ronaldo will turn his attentions to Hellas Verona this weekend as he looks to inspire another crucial victory for Juventus.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace of headers on Monday night to help Juventus bounce back from a Champions League nightmare at the Estadio do Dragao against Porto last week, as the reigning Serie A champions brushed aside a struggling Crotone side, 3-0 in Turin.

Two first-half goals from the Portuguese talisman gave Andrea Pirlo's side a 2-0 advantage at half-time - as they cruised to a comfortable victory - taking his tally of career headed goals to an astounding 133.

Another brace for CR7 means the Bianconeri forward has registered 25 goals and three assists in 28 games, truly proving age is just a number as the 36-year-old continues to dominate Italy's premier division.
Despite winning the Supercoppa Italiana and reaching the final of the Coppa Italia, Juve's European hopes are hanging by a narrow thread and Antonio Conte's Inter Milan sit eight points clear of the San Siro side atop the summit of Serie A in what is emerging a bittersweet first season in charge for Pirlo.

Despite this, however, any side with the driving force of football's greatest ever goalscorer behind them, are never truly down and out.

As the Italian footballing fixtures continue to flow thick and fast, Juventus will travel to the Veneto region for a league clash with mid-table Hellas Verona at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi on Saturday.
I Gialloblu sit ninth in the table - replicating their position in the final standings of the 2019/20 season - and as well as holding Juventus to a draw in this season's reverse fixture in Turin, have picked up impressive victories over Lazio, Napoli and Atalanta whilst leaving San Siro with a point following a 2-2 stalemate with AC Milan.
The reigning champions have picked up just one point against Verona in the last two meetings with the side, and having suffered defeat in the away fixture last season, Ronaldo certainly has a point to prove.

Stat attack

CR7 has only ever played twice against I Gialloblu in his career, scoring twice and registering one assist against the team from the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, averaging a goal contribution of 1.5 per game.
The Portuguese talisman has only a 50% win ratio against his opponents, experiencing both sides of a 2-1 scoreline in the 2019/20 Serie A season.
Both of the number-seven's goals against Verona have been on his right foot inside the box, Verona's defence will have to be alert if they are to avoid any more goals of this sort occurring on Saturday.
Football's all-time record scorer has never won in Verona in his career so far, will he change this on Saturday?
We've analysed Ronaldo's only victory against Ivan Juric's team so far, and - as expected - it was certainly eventful.

Memorable match

Juventus 2-1 Hellas Verona

Serie A

September 21, 2019

A rampant Ronaldo inspired a second half comeback for Juventus, as they came from a goal down to defeat I Gialloblu in Maurizio Sarri's first home league game as manager.
In an action packed first half, the visitors were awarded an early penalty when Merih Demiral fouled Samuel Di Carmine - having won the penalty, Di Carmine stepped up and hit the post, before the resulting rebound was rocketed off the crossbar by Darko Lazovic.
Despite the disappointment of a missed spot-kick, the persistence of Ivan Juric's side paid off just seconds later when they eventually broke the deadlock, through one of their goals of the season. Carnage.
In the brief period that followed, Miguel Veloso unleashed a breathtaking left-footed volley from 25 yards, rendering Gianluigi Buffon hopeless as he wheeled away in celebration with his adoring team-mates.
Not ones to be behind for long, CR7 adopted the role of assist maker just 11 minutes later, laying off Aaron Ramsey who unleashed a strike from range - which took a hefty deflection through the crowd of Verona players - to score on his Serie A debut for I Bianconeri.
Ramsey became the first Welshman to score for the club since the great Ian Rush in 1988.
Completing their comeback, Juventus secured the victory with a penalty of their own following a trip on Juan Cuadrado, and there was only ever one man to take it.
The coolest man in the stadium, Ronaldo placed his penalty straight down the middle to win the game for the reigning champions.

Tip of the Fixture

If Juventus are to replicate their fine form shown against Crotone on Monday night, it should be another routine victory for Ronaldo and co. - but as Verona have proven so many times this season, they will not go down without a fight.
Paddy Power are offering odds of 19/2 for both teams to score in both halves.
(Odds correct at time of writing and subject to change).

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