Juventus can distract themselves with Coppa Italia duties against AC Monza after a humbling defeat away to Napoli in Serie A.
Juventus, who face AC Monza next, were coming into the fore as title challengers before their clash last weekend against Napoli. Massimiliano Allegri’s men were in the best run of form for years and left the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium with their worst defeat in any competition for nearly three decades.
Allegri’s men visited Naples hoping to get closer to Napoli on the table. Instead, the home team put Juventus to the sword with a humbling 5-1 victory, with Angel Di Maria’s strike proving a minor consolation for the Bianconeri.
Juventus kept EIGHT consecutive clean sheets in a row in Serie A before facing this Napoli side.
They're losing 5-1 😱 pic.twitter.com/bm4vsyiL8G
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 13, 2023
Allegri will have to keep the focus on a top-four place and maybe forget about chasing Napoli this season. For now, they can distract themselves from Serie A and leave the terrible result behind by reaching the Coppa Italia semi-finals. Juventus will host Monza at the Allianz Stadium, with the manager likely to demand a sure win in the quarterfinals.
Monza will come to Turin high on confidence and a bit relieved, probably after going 12 points off the danger zone. Their 3-2 victory over bottom-placed Cremonese let them climb up to 13th on the table. The outcome has been more than what the club owners may have imagined this season.
On to their Coppa Italia clash with Juventus, Monza come into this game without much pressure and will look to hurt the Bianconeri, especially after their opponents’ latest result. Moreover, Monza will take confidence from their last meeting with Juventus at home, which resulted in a 1-0 victory for them.
Team News & Tactics
Juventus
Massimiliano Allegri will likely rotate heavily for this clash and afford many first-team regulars a much-needed breather. Many vital players are still absent through injuries, including Leonardo Bonucci, Mattia Di Sciglio and Kaio Jorge.
Warming 🆙 for the Cup 🇮🇹🏆#JuveMonza ⌛️ pic.twitter.com/RbBinDo5Sg
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) January 17, 2023
Allegri may have wanted Paul Pogba to make his comeback after a prolonged injury problem, but the Frenchman will be short of match fitness. He has resumed training and is close to playing for the club.
As part of the rotation, Allegri could allow chances to Fabio Miretti, Nicolo Fagioli and Matias Soule in the starting eleven. English talent Samuel Iling-Junior might only feature from the bench during the game.
While the side may seem much changed, some usual starters like Weston McKennie and Leandro Paredes may get the nod. Moise Kean should lead the line for Juventus against Monza on Thursday.
Probable Lineup (3-5-1-1): Perin; Danilo, Rugani, Gatti; Soule, McKennie, Paredes, Fagioli, Kostic; Miretti; Kean
Monza
Raffaele Palladino does have a few potential absentees in his squad for the trip to Turin. Juventus loanee Nicolo Rovella is a notable miss through injury, while key man Dany Mota is a significant doubt following a muscle complaint.
This team is crazy 🤪🔥⚪️🔴#ACMonza #Monza #CremoneseMonza #SerieATIM pic.twitter.com/VgZ86EXuIY
— AC Monza (@ACMonza) January 14, 2023
Mota’s absence could open the doors for Andrea Petagna or Christian Gytkjaer to join the team. The latter scored the winner over Juventus and may be preferred to lead the line for Monza. Alternatively, Petagna has played much more the Gytkjaer, so he could start up front.
The cup game could also be seen Palladino afford starting goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio. Summer arrival Alessio Cragno could see a rare start for the team and will relish the challenge posed by the side like Juventus.
Palladino will retain his team’s shape and put his best foot forward in this game, which carries more importance for Monza. He will keep a back three and a midfield four. Petagna will have two creators behind him in goal.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Cragno; Antov, Mari, Marlon; Birindelli, Pessina, Sensi, Augusto; Colpani, Caprari; Petagna
Key Stats
- Juventus had won five consecutive games to nil before their 5-1 thrashing at Napoli last week.
- In all competitions, Juventus have conceded just three goals in their last seven home games.
- Massimiliano Allegri’s team have seen under 3.5 goals scored in seven of their last eight matches.
- Monza won against Juventus the last time the two sides met.
- Monza have lost three of their last five away games, only beating Serie A’s bottom club Cremonese in that run.
Player To Watch
Moise Kean
Once revered for his rise as a youngster, the striker is steadily falling off the charts and growing somewhat irrelevant. With his return to Juventus coming after an ill-fated spell at Everton and a reasonably successful time at PSG, a better outcome was the expectation.
In truth, Kean finds himself more on the bench than on Allegri’s starting teamsheet. He still has five goals in all competitions, mainly off the bench. And these clashes with teams like Monza could allow him a good platform to shine.
Prediction
Juventus 2-1 Monza
Both teams come into this clash in different forms from their weekend results. Yet, from a larger perspective, Juventus recently went on an eight-game winning run, their best in years. And they should have momentum on their side.
The visitors will use up many first-team regulars, while Massimiliano Allegri will heavily rotate his squad. With fresher legs and players hungrier to get into regular first-team action, Juventus will have one foot forward in this quarter-final clash. They are the favourites to take the win against Monza.
