Juventus play host to Paulo Sousa’s high-flying Fiorentina on Sunday and will be hoping to close the gap between them to only two points with a win.
After an awful start to the season, it appears that Juventus have found their feet and have strung together five consecutive wins in league play. Their good form has propelled them to fifth place, six points behind league leaders Inter. Massimiliano Allegri has stated on multiple occasions that their goal is to be in third place at the end of the first round of games. Considering that Fiorentina are five points ahead of the bianconeri at the moment, this game is especially crucial for the Italian champions.
Fiorentina, on the other hand, are undefeated in their last six league games with four wins and two draws and sit just one point behind Inter in second place. Paulo Sousa’s side, however, have had all kinds of problems playing Juventus in recent times. In their last thirty-two encounters, la viola have only won on three occasions. That said, their Portuguese tactician has completely changed the outlook of the team since taking the reigns of the team from Montella and has breathed new life in the team with the help of Nikola Kalinic and Federico Bernardeschi.
Probable formations:
Juventus (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Cuadrado, Sturaro, Marchisio, Pogba, Alex Sandro; Mandzukic, Dybala.
Injuries: Roberto Pereyra, Mario Lemina, Kwadwo Asamoah and Hernanes.
Suspensions: None.
Fiorentina (3-4-2-1): Tatarusanu; Roncaglia, Rodriguez, Astori ; Bernardeschi, Vecino, Badelj, Marcos Alonso; Borja Valero, Ilicic; Kalinic.
Injuries: Jakub Blaszczykowski.
Suspensions: None.
Full list of call-ups here.
According to recent reports, Allegri will stick with the 3-5-2 and keep the same lineup that played against Sevilla for the most part. Former Fiorentina man, Juan Cuadrado, is expected to come into Stephan Lichtsteiner’s place at right-wing-back while Mario Mandzukic has recovered from his bout with the flu and will start instead of Alvaro Morata.
Paulo Sousa is expected to announce an almost completely changed lineup to the one that beat Belenenses in the Europa League to qualify for the next round. Ciprian Tatarusanu will return between the posts while Facundo Roncaglia and Gonzalo Rodriguez will come in to the defence. With the exception of Badelj, the midfield will be changed as Bernardeschi, Matias Vecino and Marcos Alonso will likely all start. Up front, Kalinic is expected to be flanked by Borja Valero and Josip Ilicic.
Players to watch:
Juventus – Claudio Marchisio
Wouldn’t it have been too easy to say Paulo Dybala given his recent form? Nah, that’s not the reason he’s not here. We’ve already previewed the matchup between the Argentine and Kalinic here. Instead, I urge you to keep an eye on Marchisio. The Italian international is as underrated as they come and has pulled all the right strings in the midfield for Juventus this season. Against Fiorentina, the 29-year-old will once again play in front of the defence and will try to link the midfield to the attack. As Sami Khedira continues to miss out through injury, Marchisio has emerged as the leader of the midfield. With Marchisio in the lineup this season, Juventus are undefeated in Serie A highlighting his importance to the team.
No Kalinic, you ask? See previous paragraph and go here. In addition to keeping an eye on the Croatian striker, Fiorentina’s Bernardeschi is definitely one that you should be watching closely. Actually, I’m quite confident that he will grab your attention either way. The 21-year-old is arguably Italy’s top talent in the final third along with Domenico Berardi and will look to pose Juventus’ left hand side all sorts of problems cutting in from the right wing. Given his combination of technique and skill, his matchup against Alex Sandro should be an interesting one. Both players have been in fine form recently adding further intrigue to their battle. While Juventus’ defenders will have their hands full with Kalinic, they will have to be watchful for Fiorentina’s play-maker or they will pay dearly.
Writer’s prediction:
Is there a way that they both end up winning? In the last five games, both teams have not tasted defeat and have been among the hottest teams in the peninsula. Given Fiorentina’s past struggles at the Juventus Stadium, you may want to tip the scale in the bianconeri’s favour. I will, however, not do that as this doesn’t look like the same Fiorentina side from the past seasons. Instead, I think we will witness a highly entertaining draw.
Result: 1-1.
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