Fresh from the Italian Super Cup triumph over Napoli on Wednesday, Juventus have already started planning for their weekend encounter against Bologna in round 19 of Serie A.
Whilst the 2-0 victory over Napoli undoubtedly raised the morale of the squad, the Bianconeri still find themselves trailing by ten points in the league table – although with a match in hand – and their current fifth spot doesn’t sit well with anyone involved within the club.
Therefore, Andrea Pirlo’s men can no longer afford to commit mistakes in the domestic league, and on Sunday they must find their way through their Rossoblu opponents when the two sides meet at the Allianz stadium.
After having to play two matches per week since the beginning of the month – with a decimated squad – the young coach will be hoping to receive some positive news before the match, similar to the Cuadrado return right before the Super Cup clash.
Alex Sandro and Matthijs De Ligt have been out for a couple of weeks after contracting the covid-19 virus, but the Old Lady supporters will be crossing their fingers in the hope that the two defenders get cleared before Sunday.
On the other hand, Turkish defender Merih Demiral was absent on Wednesday after apparently suffering from a knock in Tuesday’s training session.
However, TuttoMercatoWeb believes that the 22-year-old will be evaluated before the weekend fixture to find out whether he’s going to be fit enough to take part within the squad.
The same goes for Federico Chiesa who hasn’t been at his best form ever since he found himself on the receiving end of a nasty tackle from Sassuolo’s Pedro Obiang.
The former Fiorentina winger was taken off at half time last night against Napoli after suffering problems with his left ankle, but his condition will also be evaluated before Bologna’s match.
Nonetheless, Paulo Dybala remains a certain absentee for the time being, and Alvaro Morata will be expected to return to the starting formation alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
