Juventus are set to play a number of important games in the coming few weeks, which is why manager Massimiliano Allegri has chosen to rest a few of his key players for the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg against Inter Milan.
The Bianconeri are already leading the tie 3-0 on aggregate, and will be looking to keep it that way as they make their way to the final of the Coppa Italia.
Among the main changes, Allegri said that he would go with the forward pairing of Alvaro Morata and Simone Zaza in this game. The former Rossoneri boss has shown an a preference for fielding Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala, but given the three-goal lead, he is likely to rotate up front. He also said that substitute goalkeeper Neto would play in goal, instead of Italy and Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon.
“Up front, I could go with the strike partnership of Morata and Zaza. Meanwhile, Neto gets the nod in goal,” Allegri was quoted as saying by Juventus’s official website.
Allegri to make wholesale changes
As they are leading by a pretty huge margin, Allegri has indicated that he will make quite a few changes to his starting eleven against Inter Milan. The Bianconeri have important games in the coming weeks, including an away fixture at Bayern Munich and a Turin Derby against Torino, and Allegri will need his top players to be well rested for those games.
The game against Inter is a great opportunity for the Bianconeri to field a few of their fringe players, who have not seen much time on the pitch. One such youngster is 21-year-old centre-back Daniele Rugani.
“Rugani is young, but developing well and it’s a good thing for him to get some more matches under his belt,” said Allegri, indicating that Rugani might replace Andrea Barzagli in the starting lineup.
Second shot at treble for Juve
Although it looks unlikely at the moment, with Juventus being the underdogs against Bayern Munich in their Champions League Round of 16 tie, Allegri will definitely be looking to have another crack at the treble this season.
They missed out on it last year after losing out to Barcelona 3-1 in the Champions League final, but are once again competing on all three fronts in 2015-16. However, beating a Bayern Munich side that is yet to lose this season at the Allianz Arena will be a daunting prospect for the Old Lady.
