Back to Serie A duty after the Europa League frustration, Juventus will look to return to winning ways against Spezia on Sunday.
A lopsided contest at the Stadio Alberto Picco pits two sides in desperate need of points against each other to sign off an exciting Serie A weekend as Juventus and Spezia face off on Sunday.
Juventus’s disappointing season continued over the midweek. The Bianconeri did not put in a poor display in their Europa League playoff first-leg tie against Nantes. In fact, it came as a welcome respite for the Turin giants against a struggling side loitering 13th in French Ligue 1.
The hosts even raced into an early lead when Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic struck home Federico Chiesa’s header across the goal, while they hit the woodwork three times. But they were easily undone by a lightning-quick counter-attack. The 1-1 draw at the Allianz Stadium leaves this Europa League tie wide open.
To be fair, Juventus’s players have done admirably to remain focused on the matters on the pitch despite all the distractions off the field. The Bianconeri have rediscovered some form recently, having won three and drawn one of their last four matches across all competitions, and they will be hoping to build on a respectable run of results.
A victory at Stadio Alberto Picco would be Juventus’s third straight win in Serie A. And notwithstanding a possible secondary point penalty, there is no reason why the Old Lady cannot climb up the ladder and clinch a top-six spot between now and the end of the season.
Spezia would trade places with the visitors every day of the week, as their dreaded battle for survival looks grim with each Serie A round. Despite returning to the scoresheet at Empoli after firing blanks in three consecutive games prior to that, they managed to squander a 2-0 halftime lead to draw 2-2.
That result marked the end of the road for manager Luca Gotti, who left Spezia dangerously flirting with relegation. And a defeat here coupled with unfavourable results elsewhere could see them drop into the dreaded bottom three.ย Juventus edged Spezia 2-0 in the reverse fixture and will look for a similar result this time as well. Ahead of this game, let us take a look at both teams.
Team News & Tactics
Spezia
As if things were not bad enough for the Aquilotti, they recently lost their top scorer M’Bala Nzola to injury and are without a number of key players for Sunday’s match. They will be without the services of Jeroen Zoet, Joao Moutinho, Jacopo Sala, Simone Bastoni, Viktor Kovalenko, and Szymon Zurkowski. They also lost midfielder Salvatore Esposito as he serves a suspension after he was sent off in the last game.
Following the sacking of Luca Gotti, Spezia have handed the interim charge to Fabrizio Lorieri ahead of this latest clash with Juventus. There could be a fair few changes in the starting XI in comparison to the one that took to the field against Empoli, with Ethan Ampadu likely to sit at the base of midfield due to Esposito’s suspension, alongside Mehdi Bourabia and Kevin Agudelo, flanked by wing-backs Emil Holm and Arkadiusz Reca.
Bourabia, for one, has been a key component for Spezia and plays an important role in Spezia’s ball distribution and tempo. He will have added defensive responsibilities in Esposito’s absence, which may give Juventus the edge in terms of asserting themselves against the hosts.
Bartlomiej Dragowski will start in goal behind the centre-back trio of Dimitrios Nikolaou, Kelvin Amian, and Mattia Caldara. The backline is desperately missing the solid presence of promising young defender Jakub Kiwior, who left to join Premier League leaders Arsenal this past January.
Forward Nzola has been the driving force in their battle against relegation, having netted nine goals so far in the current Serie A season. While there have been reports that he could be included in the matchday squad this weekend, he’s unlikely to be risked from the start.
In his absence, Spezia will look to the makeshift strike partnership of Emmanuel Gyasi and Eldor Shomurodov to produce the goods in front of the goal. Daniele Verde could be another potential option to call upon as an impact substitute.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2):ย Dragowski; Amian, Caldara, Nikolaou; Holm, Bourabia, Ampadu, Agudelo, Reca; Gyasi, Shomurodov
Juventus
While Arkadiusz Milik, Juan Cuadrado, Paul Pogba, and Fabio Miretti are still out with injuries, Juventus’ key players are finally returning to action, with Massimiliano Allegri able to deploy the trio of Dusan Vlahovic, Angel Di Maria, and Federico Chiesa together for the first time in a long while.
However, the latter will be unavailable here due to a lack of fitness and tiredness after starting the mid-week game, with Allegri not keen to risk his star-man. Leonardo Bonucci may be available to feature on the bench, but is still not in condition to start the game.
That will mean Daniele Rugani could be handed a rare chance to impress at the back, and come in place of Gleison Bremer, who is suspended for the accumulation of yellow cards and will therefore be unavailable for selection. Allegri is likely to stick with a 3-5-2 formation but could consider some rotations after Juve’s Europa League encounter on Thursday.
๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐พ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ #๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ฒ โช๏ธโซ๏ธ pic.twitter.com/KhXGCjrkfZ
— JuventusFC ๐ฌ๐ง๐บ๐ธ (@juventusfcen) February 18, 2023
Szczesny will start in goal behind the back three composed of Danilo, Rugani, and Alex Sandro, with Bonucci’s return from injury coming just in time with a good chunk of the season still left to play and rotation required at the back.
The numbers at the back should give Mattia De Sciglio and Filip Kostic some freedom to get forward as they look to feed the explosive and creative front-duo of Angel Di Maria, and Dusan Vlahovic, who has been on a roll and scoring for fun since returning from injury.
Manuel Locatelli will be tasked with anchoring the midfield and setting the tone. He should be partnered by Nicolo Fagioli, who will provide the legs in the engine room. Adrien Rabiot, who has been one of Juventusโ standout performers for Juve this season, and has also chipped in with six goal contributions, will complete the midfield trident.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Szczesny; Danilo, Rugani, Sandro; De Sciglio, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Vlahovic, Di Maria
Key Stats
- Juventus have a good recent record against Spezia, having won their last 5 matches against them in all competitions.
- Only Sampdoria and Cremonese have scored fewer than Spezia’s 19 goals this term.
- Spezia failed to score in the last three home games.
- Spezia have conceded at least two goals in their last four Serie A matches.
- Juventus won four out of the last five games on the road.
Player to Watch
Dusan Vlahovic
Dusan Vlahovic has undisputedly been Juventus’s brightest asset in the attacking department since arriving from Fiorentina, although he has come under a lot of scrutiny from Juve fans. The quality he provides up top is more often than not the deciding factor in matches.
The Serb’s 13th-minute opener in the Europa League draw with Nantes means heโs found the back of the net inside the first half in two of his last three appearances across all competitions.ย If Juventus are to finish fourth despite the 15-point deduction, Vlahovic is bound to play a pivotal role. The highly-coveted striker has been a consistent threat to the opposition of late with his overall play and will be keen to inspire his side victory here against Spezia.
Prediction
Spezia 0โ1 Juventus
There has been a lot of talk around Turin about the tantalising idea of Dusan Vlahovic, Federico Chiesa, and Angel Di Maria eventually forming an attacking trifecta. But Massimiliano Allegri has so far been unable to gel together his three stars in the same lineup for a consistent period and has to rely on his old principle to dig the Bianconeriย out of a big hole following their points deduction.
Of course, Juventus’s recent spike in results has been built on defensive solidity rather than explosive, free-flowing attacking football. Stick or twist will be the question for Allegri to answer, which could have a telling impact on the rest of the season. Twist, and you are at least entertaining your fans during this difficult situation.
Regardless, back to Sunday’s game, Juventus should be able to get the better of the toothless and manager-less, relegation-threatened Spezia, who have lost four of their last five games across all competitions and have failed to score in three of those matches.
