DRAMATIC END! Cassano has words with Allegri in the aftermath of that dismissal, with those two having no love lost after their time at Milan. Moments later, Sampdoria miss a header at the back post from a last-gap corner, and the referee blows the whistle!
90' +4
N. Moisander goes off after a red card!
Moisander is sent off! He slides in with a challenge on Bonucci that sends his fellow defender flying near the touchline. The referee pulls out the red card and Sampdoria are down to 10 men!
90' +1
C. Carbonero gets yellow.
Carbonero is the latest player to be booked for a sloppy challenge. There's a lot of niggling fouls taking place on the pitch now, which is working into Juventus' favour as they bid to close out the points.
90'
S. Khedira gets yellow.
Khedira follows Hernanes into the book for a challenge on Muriel.
89'
S. Padoin enters the game and replaces P. Dybala.
Job done for Dybala, who set up Khedira's goal with a perfect, slide-rule pass, and it looks like that play is set to give the visitors the points here. On comes Padoin in his place to shore up the midfield.
88'
Hernanes gets yellow.
Hernanes gets carded for tripping Cassano.
87'
DECENT CHANCE! From a free-kick on the right side, Sampdoria swing the ball into the heart of the area. Rodriguez challenges for it, but the substitute can't divert his header on target!
85'
Alejandro Rodríguez enters the game and replaces Éder.
Eder is the man chosen to be withdrawn by Montella. The striker was well-marked for the most pasrt, but had himself a great glimpse at goal in the second half, missing the target. On comes Rodriguez.
83'
Cuadrado's pace has been a useful outlet in place of Lichtsteiner, as he's been able to drain the legs of the opposition further in the closing stages. Juve have been in this situation countless times.
81'
Is there to be another chance in this for Sampdoria? Less than 10 minutes remain now, and Buffon continues to be little more than a spectator. This has been great game management by Juve.
Minute
Description
79'
Juve are just trying to take the sting out of Smapdoria's tail, and to be fair, they're succeeding at it. The home fans are growing a little frustrated as they side fail to build on their momentum.
77'
S. Zaza enters the game and replaces Álvaro Morata.
Morata exits the field with a hard-to-read expression on his face. He's probably thinking about that glaring miss that occured just before Cassano scored. On comes Zaza for an appearance against his former club.
75'
WIDE OF THE TARGET! Pogba takes a pass in stride well and decides to go for goal, but he can't repeat the trick from the first half, missing a chance to test Viviano. Could have done better.
73'
L. Muriel enters the game and replaces É. Barreto.
Montella decides to introduce more firepower in the form of Muriel, hoping that he can be the one to complete the comeback with a decisive impact. Off goes Barreto.
71'
Juventus seem to be torn between pushing forward for a third killer goal and holding what they have. Crucially, Sampdoria haven't been able to test Buffon since getting themselves on the board.
69'
There's definitely a spring in Sampdoria's step now after that Cassano goal. The fans are energised once again and are getting behind their side. It's come to life all of a sudden.
67'
M. Cassani gets yellow.
Cassani is booked for bringing down Morata.
66'
SAMPDORIA MISS THE TARGET! The winds of change are blowing firmly in the home side's direction as Fernando slices one wide of the mark after collecting a pass from Barreto.
65'
J. Cuadrado enters the game and replaces S. Lichtsteiner.
Lichtsteiner departs after a pedestrian game for Cuadrado in a like-for-like swap.
64'
A. Cassano has scored a goal for Sampdoria! Assist by C. Carbonero.
CASSANO PULLS ONE BACK! He collects a pass from the left and just before the defenders can close down the gap, the striker angles a finish into the far-bottom corner! Game on here!
It was Carbonero who slid the pass into the gap allowed by the Bianconeri defence.
63'
MORATA CAN'T BUY A GOAL! That was a gilt-edged chance. A cross found him completely unmarked in the area and he dove right on it, but his header is wide of the target! How did he miss that?
62'
SAVED BY VIVIANO! Dybala takes a speculative effort from long range that suddenly creeps towards the bottom corner, and the ex-Palermo keeper has to get down to turn it around the post!
60'
CHANCE FOR SAMPDORIA! A rare slip-up in the Juve box sees a cross find Eder in some space, and he takes aim on the turn, missing the bottom corner by mere inches! That would have made things interesting!
58'
Paul Pogba takes aim from outside the area on his left foot, but drags his effort wide in the end. Some of his touches in Juve's buildup play have been mesmerizing, a perfect blend of athleticism and delicateness.
56'
Two offsides in quick succession sees the frustration grow in the stands at the Marassi. Their side are not exactly being outplayed, but just look rather incompetent when on the ball.
54'
Sampdoria have to risk more men forward if they want a way back into this game. They're trying to execute the killer ball, but the Juve backline is too well-drilled to fall for that at the moment.
52'
Hernanes is starting to get more involved in this game, taking a lay off from Pogba on his chest and sprinting down the left-hand side, but his teammates aren't in position to take advantage of it.
49'
Well this is a mountain for Sampdoria to climb now. Creating precious little in the first half was already problematic, and they now have to commit numbers forward against a Juve side that are experts at picking teams off.
47'
P. Pogba gets yellow.
Pogba is booked for taking out the substitue Ivan.
46'
S. Khedira has scored a goal for Juventus! Assist by P. Dybala.
Here we go again!
Fifth assist for Dybala this season and his hand in Juventus goals continues to grow.
JUVE DOUBLE THEIR ADVANTAGE! Lovely pass from Dybala to slide the German in space, and he takes it well on the turn, slotting into the back of the net.
45' +1
Deep into first-half stoppage time now and it appears that Juventus are content to play out this scoreline into the break. They've barely had to break a sweat at times here.
44'
Rare chance for Sampdoria, as Cassano releases the ball for Carbonero to have a strike on goal, but his eventual effort is nowhere as delicious as his name, missing the target.
41'
It's just not happening for the home side, who look completely shot of ideas in the final third. They've resorted to too many punts into the Juve box, which the visitors' defence has consistently been able to make mincemeat of.
39'
L. Bonucci gets yellow.
Bonucci has picked up the first yellow card of the game for going in late on Fernando. It was a cheap booking to pick up as the Sampdoria midfielder didn't appear to be going anywhere.
37'
D. Ivan enters the game and replaces R. Soriano.
The delay is over, and it looks like Soriano will not be able to continue. Sampdoria eschew an assessment at the imminent half-time break to introduce David Ivan in his place.
35'
There's a delay in the game due to a problem for Soriano, who is attended to by the physios. He's able to get to his feet on his own, and douses himself in water to get back to his senses.
33'
Remember that Juventus can move onto 39 points with a win here, which will put them only two behind league leaders Napoli at the halfway stage of the season. What an incredible recovery it has been from the champs.
31'
Despite the pressure from the visitors, there has been a lack of genuine chances in this game. Both Viviano and Buffon have been relatively untroubled outside of routine collections and catches.
29'
You get the sense that Juve are slowly grinding down the Sampdoria defence here. They've opted for a series of crosses into the area, and are challenging the back three for every header.
27'
Some of the movement in Juventus' midfield has been admirable. Just as one player drops deep or drifts out of position, another one moves into the space to keep options open.
25'
Sampdoria finally show something in attack as they win a pair of corners, both which required safety-first clearances from the Juventus defence. However, as has been the case all game, the Bianconeri deal with the aerial threat.
23'
Lichtsteiner tries to slide in a through ball goalside of the full-back for Morata to chase, but the Spaniard started his run too early and is flagged for offside. Could have been promising.
21'
Cassani tries to make amends for his mistake by clipping a ball into the box for Eder, but he's got Rugani and Bonucci draped all over him and can't make any contact on that delivery.
19'
Sampdoria will be disappointed in themselves - it was a soft goal to concede in more ways than one. From the way that Pogba muscled Cassani off the ball to his effort that lacked any kind of power - that one was avoidable.
17'
P. Pogba has scored a goal for Juventus! Assist by L. Bonucci.
POGBA OPENS THE SCORING! There seemed to be little danger when the ball was flighted into the box, but the Frenchman shoved Cassani off him and fired a weak but well-placed effort on the turn that sneaks past Viviano!
Bonucci, camped high up the field, clipped in the telling cross for Pogba to do the rest.
14'
The pressure is slowly building from Juventus, with Dybala dropping deeper to get involved in a few moves. It's all concentrated on the right flank now, with Sampdoria forced to keep bodies camped inside their own penalty area to defend against a few crosses.
12'
Sampdoria, meanwhile, are showing nothing in possession. Too often, they are forced to play it safe all the way back to Viviano to reset the move, due to the pressure from the Bianconeri.
10'
The Bianconeri are starting to grow into this game now, with their left flank looking positive with Pogba combining with Evra on multiple occasions now. Still, the visitors are struggling to get Dybala and Morata involved.
7'
Another corner for the home side is well defended by the Bianconeri, as Chiellini acrobatically heads the ball away from immediate danger. Moments later, Pogba tries to clip an early one into the area, but Viviano is on it in a flash.
5'
We haven't seen much in the way of an attacking threat from the Bianconeri yet, but with that man Dybala in their ranks, they always have a chance. The Argentine has been the central figure in their revival, scoring five and setting up two in his last seven domestic games.
3'
Some early pressure on the Juventus goal as Sampdoria force a corner on the left-hand side, but nothing comes of it. Still, a positive start from the home side, who aren't looking fazed by the reputation of their opponents.
1'
Off we go!
Juventus are looking to extend their winning streak to nine straight league games, a run which started after they lost to Sassuolo 1-0 in October. This period has seen the Bianconeri climb to fourth in the table, re-igniting their title challenge with the possibility of moving within two points of leaders Napoli if they do the business tonight.
Hello and welcome to our live commentary of the Serie A clash between Sampdoria and Juventus. Both sides have been in good form in the league recently, and tonight's match is expected to be a close one. Stick with us for all the action.
Sampdoria beat Palermo and Genoa either side of the mid-season break to halt their mediocrity, although they still sit far behind the European zone in 13th place. Their problem has been shipping goals, with only four teams in the league recording a worse mark than their 28 goals conceded.
Sampdoria have taken only one point from their last four meetings with Juve, who have taken 1-0 wins from their last two visits to the Marassi. Those two wins came after a five-game unbeaten streak for Samp at home against the Old Lady.
Mattia Cassani replaces Lorenzo De SIlvestri in the only change for the home side this evening. Meanwhile, for Juve, Patrice Evra, Hernanes and Daniele Rugani come in for Alex Sandro, Claudio Marchisio and Martin Caceres respectively.
And that will do it for the first half from the Marassi. Pogba's strike after 17 minutes following Bonucci's cross is the difference between the two sides, in a game that has generally lacked much goalmouth action. There's still plenty to play for in the second half though, so do stay tuned.
And that's it from the Marassi, as Juventus win their ninth-straight league match, moving within two points of leaders Napoli. Goals from Khedira and Pogba put them in a commanding position, but Cassano made things interesting in the last half-hour with his finsh. Things ended in flames as Moisander saw red for a sliding challenge. That's all the time we have, thanks for joining us!
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