Juventus V Atalamta

Serie A – Week 24 [Friday, 20th February – 19:45 GMT] – Juventus Stadium

Juventus

Juve will be hoping to get things back on track following last weekend’s disappointing away-draw against Cesena which saw Arturo Vidal miss a late penalty and the chance to extend Juve’s lead to 9 points at the top of the table.

The Bianconeri will welcome Atalanta to the J-Stadium on Friday evening, just four days ahead of their first-leg Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund. Atalanta have struggled of late, winning just 1 of their last 5 matches while they’ve yet to beat Juventus in Serie A in their last 21 attempts.

Juventus haven’t lost a home game in Serie A since 6th January 2013, extending their unbeaten run to 39 games with 35 victories and just 4 draws while netting close to 100 goals along the way, conceding just 18.

Gigi Buffon will start in goal while Stephan Lichtsteiner and Patrice Evra are expected to play as the full-backs. Leonardo Bonucci had a match to forget against Cesena but he will likely start with Giorgio Chiellini alongside.

Arturo Vidal is a late injury doubt with some reports from Italy suggesting he picked up a adductor sprain which would rule him out the game. Andrea Pirlo was expected to be rested ahead of Juve’s match against Dortmund but he may well start with Claudio Marchisio and Paul Pogba alongside him in the 3-man midfield. Roberto Pereyra hasn’t featured recently but he may be given the starting nod, playing behind a front duo of Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata.

Alternatively, Allegri may decide to rest Pogba – and Vidal – ahead of the match versus Dortmund. In this case it’s predicted that Juve will line up in a 3-5-2. Bonucci, Chiellini, and probably Angelo Ogbonna as the backline. Evra and Lichtsteiner on the wings, and Pirlo, Marchisio, and Pereyra in the midfield. Really, the starters wouldn’t change much, barring the absence of Pogba and Vidal.

Predicted Lineup

4-3-1-2: Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, Evra; Pirlo, Marchisio, Pogba; Pereyra; Tevez, Morata

Injured

Asamoah and Romulo (Recovering from surgery) – Arturo Vidal (Doubtful – Adductor sprain)

Suspended

None

Atalanta

Juventus will face a severely depleted version of Atalanta on Friday night: Yohan Benaloaune, Carlos Carmona and Mauricio Pinilla are suspended, Maxi Moralez and Giuseppe Biava have picked up thigh strains in the last match and Marcelo Estigarribia, Nicolò Cherubin and Cristian Raimondi have been out for a while with serious injuries. Stefano Colantuono will be forced to improvise a lineup, with a makeshift defense.

One between the two natural fullbacks Giampaolo Bellini and Andrea Masiello, who has just returned from a three-year ban for match fixing, will pair with Guglielmo Stendardo in the heart of the defense. The other one will play on the right, with either Ousmane Drame (he should be ready to go after missing the last few games with a shoulder injury) or Cristiano Del Grosso on the other flank.

Replacing Maxi Moralez, the key element of their offensive phase, will be the biggest challenge. In the most recent games, the veteran coach picked his customary (and successful) 4-4-1-1 over a classic 4-4-2 with two centre-forwards, used early in the season. Alejandro Gomez is slated to play behind German Denis, with Urby Emanuelson making his debut from the start on the left flank. Rolando Bianchi and Richmond Boakye have a chance to play if Colantuono opts for a heavy attack. Giulio Migliaccio will fill in Carmona’s spot as enforcer in the middle, with Luca Cigarini (or Daniele Baselli) as the playmaker.

It has been a disappointing season for Atalanta so far. They are just outside the relegation zone, three points clear from Cagliari, even if they have a much more quality and experienced squad than other teams. The two leaders Denis and Cigarini are having a subpar year and also Stendardo hasn’t been as commanding as in the past. Their youngsters haven’t really flourished, with the exception of Marco Sportiello, who might simply be a better goalkeeper than Andrea Consigli, and Davide Zappacosta, who has been very impactful since moving permanently to the right winger position.

On the road, they have been pretty pitiful (but that’s an historical flaw), with two win, four draws and six losses. The recent history doesn’t favor them in this one: since 1997-1998, Juventus have always scored when hosting Atalanta and Bianconeri have won ten out of the eleven matches since then (one draw). In this stretch, Juventus have won 3-0 three times. Atalanta struggle almighty to score: they have found the back of the net only twenty times this season, tied with Parma for second worst in the League. On the road, they have scored only seven times.

Their offensive strategy relies on attacking down both flanks and deliver sharp crosses for the striker or the opposite winger and countering. The combination of Emanuelson and Gomez could be tricky to guard. On the other hand, they have difficulties in holding the ball and distributing it well, and it’ll be an even more of a problem without Moralez, and the defensive chemistry will surely be an issue.

Predicted Lineup

4-4-1-1: Sportiello; Bellini, Masiello, Stendardo, Drame; Zappacosta, Cigarini, Migliaccio, Emanuelson; Gomez; Denis.

Injuries

Maxi Moralez (thigh), Biava (thigh), Estigarribia (knee), Raimondi (knee), Cherubin (calf).

Suspended

Benaloaune, Carmona, Pinilla.

Formation