Italian giants Juventus will look to put their two-match losing streak behind them when they take on bottom-placed Salernitana in Serie A on Tuesday.
Serie A heavy-hitters Juventus are enduring a difficult season that has already seen them lose five of their opening 14 Serie A games so far. A 1-0 defeat to Atalanta saw the Turin giants slip to the seventh spot in the Serie A standings. It all but ends any faint hopes they had of challenging for the Scudetto this season.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side have struggled to impose themselves this season. Juventus don’t just look out of form but also bereft of ideas as they finally attempt to get their campaign going. It is not yet December, and attention has already shifted to salvaging the season.
The Turin giants have lost their last two games in all competitions before Tuesday’s trip to bottom-placed Salernitana. The Serie A strugglers have won just two league games and are now preparing to face a Juventus side bereft of confidence. As crazy as it may sound, I Granata might as well be in with a shot.
A win for Salernitana would hand them a shot at survival and could even get them out of the bottom three should other results also go their way. Juventus, meanwhile, need the three points just as bad. Allegri’s return has not panned out as expected, and the Bianconeri find themselves a million miles from competing.
The Italian tactician will hope to relieve some pressure off his back by securing a victory on the night. Juventus certainly go into the game as heavy favourites. Anything less than three points could prove catastrophic. For now, The Hard Tackle takes a look at how they may set up on the night.
Team News & Tactics
Salernitana
?️Colantuono: "Prestazione importante e maggiore incisività per fare male"
Le dichiarazioni del tecnico granata alla vigilia di Salernitana – Juventus ?https://t.co/gWgLYpTzqr#macteanimo #salernitanajuventus #forzagranata pic.twitter.com/bI40Xu5whL— US Salernitana 1919 (@OfficialUSS1919) November 29, 2021
The home side will be without Matteo Ruggeri, Stefan Strandberg, Mamadou Coulibaly, Antonio Russo, Grigoris Kastanos and Franck Ribery, who are all unavailable. Cedric Gondo picked up a knock in the last game and is a doubt to face Juventus. I Granata have no other issues and have an otherwise fully fit squad to choose from.
Stefan Colantuano looks set to continue with his 4-3-1-2 formation once again. This will see Antonio Russo start in goal behind a back four of Nadir Zortea, Norbert Gyomber, Riccardo Gagliolo and Luca Ranieri.
The midfield trio of Joel Obi, Francesco Di Tacchio and Lassana Coulibaly will need to be at the top of their game to contain a Juventus midfield looking to make amends for their recent setbacks. The Old Lady have struggled to score goals this season, and Salernitana could choke the life out of them by suffocating the midfield.
With Gondo out, Nigerian striker, Simy looks set to start upfront alongside Federico Bonazzoli. The onus to drive the attack from midfield will fall to Milan Duric, who looks set to be deployed just behind the Salernitana front two.
The Italian minnows will have their work cut out against a Juventus side that is their superior in every department. Allegri’s men are, however, low on morale, and Salernitana will not get a better opportunity to grab a huge scalp for themselves. Whether they will go on to enjoy a game to cherish remains to be seen.
Probable Lineup (4-3-1-2): Belec; Zortea, Gyomber, Gagliolo, Ranieri; L. Coulibaly, Di Tacchio, Obi; Djuric; Bonazzoli, Simy
Juventus
It has been a season to forget for Juventus, who parted way with Cristiano Ronaldo earlier in the summer. The attacker’s exit left the Old Lady attack short up front, and they have failed to showcase the cutting edge at times.
Juventus have scored just 18 goals in 14 Serie A games this season. No other team in the top 12 have scored lesser than Allegri’s side. The struggle isn’t limited to one end of the pitch as Juventus have also failed to keep things tight at the back. Silly goals and errors have seen them concede goals that have cost them dearly in recent weeks.
I convocati per #SalernitanaJuve ?
Powered by @bitgetglobal pic.twitter.com/LAF4hASG1L
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) November 29, 2021
The Bianconeri will, however, be without Brazilian right-back, Danilo and Aaron Ramsey. In addition, Weston McKennie and Federico Chiesa are fresh injury-related absentees for the visitors.
Allegri looks set to continue with the basic 4-4-2 formation that has brought him some mixed results of late. Wojciech Szczesny is the automatic starter in goal and will play behind n the flat back four of Juan Cuadrado, Matthijs de Ligt, Leonardo Bonnuci and Alex Sandro.
Manuel Locatelli and Rodrigo Bentancur will need to be at the assertive best in midfield. Doing so would ensure the Turin giants have more opportunities to feed their forwards. Who wins the midfield battle on the night could very well decide the outcome of the game.
Federico Bernardeschi and Adrien Rabiot will look to provide some width, while Dejan Kulusevski could prove to be a super-sub off the bench. Paulo Dybala will keep his place up front but could partner Moise Kean over Alvaro Morata this time around.
To describe the game as a must-win would be an understatement. Anything short of three points and alarm bells in Turin will only get louder.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Szczesny; Cuadrado, de Ligt, Bonucci, Sandro; Bernardeschi, Locatelli, Bentancur, Rabiot; Dybala, Kean
Key Stats
- Juventus have scored just 18 games in 14 Serie A games so far this season. They are the lowest goalscorers in the top half of the table.
- Salernitana are on a two-game unbeaten run against Juventus at home in Serie A (1W,1D).
- Salernitana is the only Serie A side apart from Treviso against whom Juventus are yet to score an away goal.
- Juventus have lost their last two games against newly-promoted opponents.
- Salernitana have lost five of their seven Serie A home games this season.
Player to Watch
Paulo Dybala
The Argentina sensation is the only player who looks likely to make anything happen for Juventus right now. He almost rescued a point against Atalanta at the weekend but saw the goal frame deny him. With Federico Chiesa injured and Alvaro Morata struggling, the onus will again be on Dybala to step up.
The 28-year-old has the opportunity to do that and make himself count. The club needs a hero and the South American ace has the makings of one. It is fair to assume that whatever good Juventus do on the night, Dybala will most likely play a role in it.
Prediction
Salernitana 0-2 Juventus
Despite the woeful run of form, Juventus have too much in the locker for the home side to breach. More so, the Old Lady are in desperate need of a win lest the campaign blows into a full out crisis. While Salernitana could test their visitors, who are low on morale, Allegri’s side has the individual quality to make something out of nothing. The manager will have no excuses if his side falls to the bottom-ranked team in Serie A.
