Bologna v Juventus
Serie A Week 26 – Friday, 19th February – 19:45 GMT – Renato Dall’Ara
Juventus
Juventus-Napoli was a masterclass of tacticism and defending. I reckon that the Bianconeri were lucky to come away with three points thanks to a deflected shot, after Massimiliamo Allegri appeared to have settled for a draw by subbing off Paulo Dybala for Alex Sandro and switching to 4-5-1. However, in this season, Juventus are no stranger to scoring very late in games and it should not be forgotten that there is a reason if the club’s motto is “Fino alla fine.”
Juventus extended their winning streak to 15 games, two matches shy of Inter’s record. Ironically enough, they have the chance to tie it if they beat Bologna on Friday night and Inter themselves in two weeks. More importantly, Juventus have overtaken Napoli on top of the table. I think that the Scudetto will be decided in the next month, where both teams will have to deal with a busy schedule because of Champions and Europa League. It would be hard to catch the Bianconeri if they built even a small four, five-point lead.
Mixed news from the infirmary, first the good bits: Leonardo Bonucci avoided a major knee injury after being pulled from the Napoli game because of a knock and Juan Cuadrado has a bummed ankle, but the ailment is so light that it did not even required further tests. Both should be rested against Bologna but will be available against Bayern Munich. Mario Mandzukic aims to be ready too and Kwadwo Asamoah will return soon as well. On the other hand, Alex Sandro has a sore hamstring that will sideline him for ten days or so. I do not think he would have played against Bayern, but he would have definitely relieved Patrice Evra in this one.
In the end, Juventus fielded a standard four-man defence against Napoli and it should be ever more clear-cut against Bologna, because the coach is expected to use his beloved 4-3-1-2. Therefore, Stephen Lichtsteiner and Evra will cover the flanks with Andrea Barzagli and Daniele Rugani in the middle. It will be interesting to see whether Allegri will trust Rugani against the German champions, should Giorgio Chiellini not recover in time. Rugani was decent against Napoli, but in that game, the whole team was very focused and really a one-man defence would have been enough because Barzagli played so perfectly. One of the most dominant defensive performances I can remember.
Stefano Sturaro is slated to start in the midfield replacing Sami Khedira, who will stay in Vinovo to work on his conditioning. With Cuadrado likely to be on the bench, Roberto Pereyra will be the attacking midfielder since Hernanes has basically disappeared. The coach said that Simone Padoin could take Cuadrado’s spot, but that is probably just a way to mess with reporters.
Simone Zaza, who by the way said all the right things during the week, should have earned himself a chance to start thanks to his huge goal, probably in lieu of Dybala after Allegri hinted that he has played a lot lately.
Probable lineup:
4-3-1-2: Buffon; Lichsteiner, Rugani, Barzagli, Evra; Sturaro, Marchisio, Pogba; Pereyra; Morata, Zaza.
Injuries:
Chiellini (calf), Mandzukic (calf), Alex Sandro (hamstring), Asamoah (hamstring), Caceres (Achilles).
Suspended:
None.
Bologna
Roberto Donadoni has done a masterful job at Bologna: he turned what looked like a moribund, Serie B bound team that had lost eight of the first ten games into a decent squad that can stop anybody. They have drawn against Roma, Fiorentina and Lazio and they have defeated Napoli and Milan. If they have a little bit of continuity, they will establish themselves as a first-half-of-the-table side in the years to come, taking into consideration the wealth of the owner Joey Saputo. They are in tenth position now.
Donadoni has not changed Delio Rossi’s 4-3-3 much, but it is interpreted in a different way. The midfield and the defence are stouter now and he has managed to revitalize Mattia Destro, who struggled to score in the first part of the season, by making him the centrepiece of the attack and giving him more responsibilities. The Italian striker has tallied eight goals in his last 13 matches. Emanuele Giaccherini has been brilliant all season long and Anthony Mounier was a nice cheap addition. A playing style that includes quick counterattacks suits them all.
The only absentee will be Luca Rossettini, who was slotted at right-back since Donadoni was appointed, giving the defence great stability. He will be replaced by either the versatile Ibrahima Mbaye or Alex Ferrari. Adam Masina, a very good young player who is a force on the left, should return to the starting lineup after being benched against Udinese. Daniele Gastaldello and one between Marios Oikonoumou and Domenico Maietta will be in the heart of the defence. Antonio Mirante should be available after missing two games with an hamstring injury, otherwise Angelo Da Coasta will be on goal.
They are deep in the midfield and can field different combinations: the best one includes Godfred Donsah, Amadou Diawara and Saphir Taider. Kudos to their sporting director, the veteran Pantaleo Corvino, for discovering the 18-year-old Diawara in the fourth league and foreseeing that he could contribute right away. Donsah’s skills were well known after his stint at Cagliari, snatching him from the greedy hands of the top teams was a nice coup too. I liked it a lot when they used the exciting Franco Brienza in the midfield to have more playmaking, but it should not be the case in this one. The attack should be composed of the aforementioned Mounier-Destro-Giaccherini trio, even though there is a chance that Luca Rizzo replaces Mounier to have a more defensive lineup.
They are a bit better on the road, maybe because home teams played more openly on their own turf and leave some room for quick attacks, which is Bologna’s forte. Masina, Donsah, Mounier, Giaccherini and Destro are all playmakers in the open field. Preventing counters that should be Juventus’ number one priority in this game.
Probable lineup:
4-3-3: Mirante; Mbaye, Gastaldello, Maietta, Masina; Donsah, Diawara, Taider; Mounier, Destro, Giaccherini.
Injuries:
Rossettini (hamstring).
Suspended:
None.
Formation
Statistics
Infographics from Sporticos.com