Juventus will be looking to keep their hopes of a top-four finish alive when they face an impressive yet inconsistent Hellas Verona side at the Allianz Stadium.
Serie A giants Juventus take on Hellas Verona on Sunday night at the Allianz Stadium as they look to keep pace with the top-four teams in the race for the Champions League spots.
The Bianconeri are currently just one point off fourth spot. However, they have played one game more than Atalanta and cannot afford to drop any more points and hand La Dea the advantage. Massimiliano Allegri’s side have been far from their best all season, but have shown a knack for securing the required results when under the pump.
Juventus drew 0-0 with AC Milan last time around, a game where they notably failed to fire a single shot on target. Much has changed in Turin since then, though, courtesy of the January transfer window. Allegri’s attack is now led by Dusan Vlahovic, one of the finest young strikers in Europe. Sunday’s game will give the Juve faithful their first look at the prolific Serbian.
Meanwhile, Hellas Verona are currently in the ninth spot and have shown themselves to be tricky opponents on their day. Juventus will be well aware of that fact, having lost the reverse fixture 2-1 last October. Ironically, it also happened to be one of the Turin giant’s better performances of the season, but they ended up with nothing to show for it.
Allegri will hope that fortune favours his side this time around on home soil. Juventus are currently on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Italian top-flight and have tightened up their defence of late. The Hard Tackle takes a look at how both sides could line up on the night and what tactics they might employ.
Team News and Tactics
Juventus
Juventus go into the match on the back of a nine-game unbeaten streak in the Serie A. While it is difficult to argue that they have returned to their best, the defence has certainly looked solid and difficult to breach. They have kept a clean sheet in six of the last nine league games.
Scatti dal JTC con #JuveVerona nel mirino ??
La gallery dell'allenamento di oggi ? https://t.co/ZsesIRanAk pic.twitter.com/LTOwCVbpxJ
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) February 4, 2022
The same can’t be said at the other end, as Juventus have struggled to score this season. Ten of the top 12 sides in the Serie A have outscored Juventus so far this season. With Dusan Vlahovic now in their ranks, it remains to be seen whether the numbers pick up.
Allegri’s side have had a busy winter transfer window. Dusan Vlahvoic and Denis Zakaria joined the club while Aaron Ramsey, Dejan Kulusevksi and Rodrigo Bentancur departed for England. The Bianconeri will also be without Federico Chiesa, who is out for the season, and Manuel Locatelli, who is suspended for the tie.
To add to Allegri’s woes, Federico Bernardeschi, Mattia Perrin, and Alex Sandro are all doubts for the game. Juventus’ decision to part ways with Kulusevski is extremely puzzling, considering star winger Chiesa will not play again this season. Whether this will force Allegri to deploy a new formation remains to be seen.
Star playmaker Paulo Dybala is one footballer who stands to benefit from Vlahovic’s arrival. The Argentine will now have the freedom to drop deeper and cause mayhem as a roving creative presence. However, he only returned to Italy recently from international duty and is likely to start this game on the bench.
Allegri is likely to go with his tried and tested 4-4-2 formation on the night. Wojciech Szczesny is the automatic starter in goal and is expected to play behind a back four of Danilo, Matthijs de Ligt, Giorgio Chiellini and Mattia De Sciglio. Denis Zakaria looks set to make his debut for Juventus and is likely to partner Arthur in the middle of the park.
Weston McKennie is likely to start on the left, with Juan Cuadrado occupying the other flank. This will see Alvaro Morata start upfront alongside Vlahovic. Dybala’s absence could, however, impact Juventus’ creativity. Neither of the Bianconeri’s front two is adept at dropping back, and this could see them become isolated upfront should Hellas Verona cut off the passing channels.
All it does is increase the pressure on McKennie and Cuadrado on the wings to whip in the crosses. However, the situation could improve if Allegri replaces Morata with Dybala sometime in the game. It could prove to be a fascinating outing for the Turin giants as they look to end the season strong.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Szczesny; De Sciglio, Chiellini, de Ligt, Danilo; McKennie, Arthur, Zakaria, Cuadrado; Vlahovic, Morata
Hellas Verona
The visitors will be without Giovanni Simeone, who is suspended for the game. The Argentine was the difference-maker in the reverse fixture, and his absence will be a boon to Allegri and his men. Nikola Kalinic looks set to replace the striker in the starting lineup.
Igor Tudor will also be unable to call upon the services of centre-back Pawel Dawidowicz, while left-back Gianluca Frabotta is a doubt for the game. Martin Hongla is also set to miss out following his AFCON commitments with Cameroon.
Tudor is likely to field his side in a 3-4-2-1 formation that is flexible enough to change shape when needed. Lorenzo Montipo looks set to start in goal, behind the back three of Federico Ceccherini, Koray Gunter and Nicolo Casale. Davide Faraoni and Darko Lazovic look set to start as the wing-backs and will be expected to bomb up and down the flanks.
The duo of Adrien Tameze and Miguel Veloso will be entrusted to win the midfield battle. Doing so will give Faraoni and Lazovic the freedom to push the Juventus duo of McKennie and Cuadrado further back. That will help Verona further isolate Vlahovic and Morata upfront. Kalinic will lead the line ahead of Antonin Barak and Gianluca Caprari, who will be entrusted with creating opportunities for the Croatian.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Montipo; Casale, Gunter, Ceccherini; Faraoni, Tameze, Veloso, Lazovic; Caprari, Barak; Kalinic
Key Stats
- Hellas Verona are unbeaten in their last four games against Juventus. Only Sampdoria have a longer unbeaten streak in the competition against Juventus (5).
- No team has done the league double over Juventus since Sampdoria in 2012/13. Hellas Verona could join the elite company should they get the better of Massimilano Allegri’s side on the night.
- Juventus have faced Hellas Verona 30 times at home in Serie A and are unbeaten yet. This is the longest run by any side in the Italian top-flight.
- If Juventus fail to score on the night, it will be the first time since 2012 that the Bianconeri have gone two consecutive Serie A games without finding the back of the net.
- Curiously enough, Hellas Verona have outscored Juventus in this season’s Serie A. At the same time, I Gialloblu have the second-worst defence in the Serie A top ten.
Player to Watch
Dusan Vlahovic
Buongiorno ⚪️⚫️#DV7 pic.twitter.com/HkRtGP5UOp
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) February 4, 2022
The Serbian striker is the league’s joint-top scorer this campaign and scored for fun for a poor Fiorentina side. Now at Juventus, all eyes will be on him as he makes his debut for the Bianconeri. Vlahovic has faced off against Hellas Verona five times in his career and has found the back of the net just twice. There is no better time to improve his numbers.
Alvaro Morata has impressed in flashes, but the lack of a reliable scorer has hurt Juventus over the last few years. In Vlahovic, they will hope to have addressed the issue, and it will be put to the test against Verona. The 22-year-old has found the back of the net seven times in the last nine games and will be expected to turn on the heat on his debut in black and white. If all goes well, it could prove to be a debut to remember for the youngster in Turin.
Predictions
Juventus 2-0 Hellas Verona
While they may have lost their encounter against Hellas Verona earlier in the season, Juventus have made changes at both ends of the pitch. Allegri’s men have tightened up the defence while also adding a reliable goalscorer to lead their line at the other end of the pitch.
While Hellas Verona have impressed, they could find it difficult to overcome the new and improved Bianconeri at the Allianz Stadium. All signs point towards a win for the home side, allowing them to stay in the hunt for a top-four finish.
