Buffon set to make history against Sampdoria
Gianluigi Buffon is set to equal Paolo Maldini's all-time Serie A appearance record when Juventus faces Sampdoria on Thursday (AEDT) with Wojciech Szczesny unlikely to feature.
Szczesny missed Juve's 3-1 win over Udinese because of a right shoulder problem and head coach Maurizio Sarri confirmed in his pre-match media conference that the Poland international is still not fit to play.
Juve legend Buffon, who returned in the close-season after a sole campaign with Paris Saint-Germain, has made 646 Serie A appearances. Milan great Maldini finished his career with 647.
"Szczesny will probably not play as he is still not ready," Sarri said. "We are evaluating him day by day."
Juve is second in the table, level on points with leader Inter, going into the clash at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Sampdoria is down in 16th but Claudio Ranieri's men are coming off a dramatic late 1-0 win over city rival Genoa on Sunday (AEDT).
"It will be a difficult game. They are recovering and have the enthusiasm of the derby victory," Sarri added.
"Ranieri's teams are always difficult to deal with. A high level performance will be needed."
Juve have been drawn against Lyon in the last 16 of the Champions League. Sarri's men dropped just two points en route to topping Group D while Lyon qualified on the final matchday thanks to a 2-2 draw at RB Leipzig.
However, Sarri was reticent to make any judgments about the tie with Rudi Garcia's side.
He said: "At this moment, it makes no sense to analyse it because there is still a lot time left until the matches and situations will change."
