Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon believes Sunday's game with Udinese is pivotal to their chances of challenging Inter Milan for the Serie A title.
Juve are five points behind Inter in the table while city rivals AC Milan are two points further back in third and defeat for Juve could see the Rossoneri go above them if they win.
Udinese will be without forwards Antonio Di Natale and Simone Pepe through suspension and injury respectively but Buffon does not expect Juve's opponents to be easier to beat because of this.
Juventus welcome back captain Alessandro Del Piero who has been out with a thigh injury for over a month but is set to return to action this weekend. Martin Caceres and Claudio Marchisio are all set to make their returns from the sidelines.
However, Udinese have far greater problems when it comes to consistency, as they now haven’t won in their last two games in Serie A. A new look forward line composed of journeymen like Francesco Lodi and Bernardo Corradi certainly isn’t as dynamic as last year’s trident led by Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella who has struggled to make an impact at Napoli.
Udinese are currently tied in 12th place with Chievo and Roma with 15 points from 12 games played so far this season. That said, Udinese always line up with the intention of attacking in a 4-3-3 and Juventus’ centre-backs can expect a tough Sunday evening.
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