Juventus v Atalanta
Serie A Week 15 – Saturday, 3rd December – 19:45 GMT – Juventus Stadium
Juventus
The performance against Genoa was simply horrible, the worst one in over a decade. The squad was flat and not focused, completely overwhelmed by the opponent’s intensity. As a result, they conceded three goals in half an hour and its advantage over the suitors was reduced to just four points.
However, here is why I am not too worked up about it. First of all, I think that as long as you are in first position, things are good and there is no need to panic. Of course, it would be great to have a ten-point lead and win the League in March, but that is not always possible. In the past two seasons, I have been a proponent of punting a game here and there in Serie A to play better in Champions League, especially in the early stages, to avoid any trouble. Unfortunately, the last few years prove that you can not have it both ways and that the team has always privileged the domestic league.
This season, that has changed: even though the outings in Europe have not always been perfect, certainly they have been the main focus. It is not a surprise that the three losses in Serie A have come after Champions League midweek matches, unfortunately against historic opponents like Milan and Inter. At the end of the day, Juventus have a golden opportunity to finish first in its group, hopefully it will prove to be helpful in the draw, and they are still on top of the table in Serie A.
It is still painful to see matches like the Genoa one, but I accept them if there is a reasonable explanation and if the European campaign is successful. It is hard to be in tip-top shape, physically and mentally, twice in three days, especially against well-rested and well-prepared opponents and in a moment when you can not rotate the squad much because of injuries. All those factors piled up and resulted in an ugly game last week.
The worst news once again come from the infirmary: Leonardo Bonucci could miss up to two months with a severe hamstring strain, while Dani Alves has a fractured fibula, whose recovery time has not been disclosed but that usually takes at least a couple of months to heal, then it depends on what kind of fracture it is and if there is any setback later on. Fortunately, the roster is pretty deep in those two positions, even though it is clear that their quality and leadership will be missed.
Paulo Dybala as not been called up and that qualifies as a surpise as the coach heavily hinted that he would be. He should be close to returning thouhg. His absence, and Marko Pjaca’s one, has forced the coach to constantly use the Gonzalo Higuain-Mario Mandzukic couple up front, which has basically worked pretty well for Mandzukic and not that well for El Pipita, who is playing as second striker/left winger, which has hurt his scoring averages. He is still contributing a ton though.
As for Saturday, there are still few doubts about the tactic. There are only three and a half centre-backs available, two of which, Medhi Benatia and Giorgio Chiellini, are rather similar. I do not think we have ever seen a three-man defence without both Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli, but in the pre-game presser Massimiliano Allegri was confident that Benatia could take over the key role in the heart of the defensive line.
It looks like it will be either a 3-5-2 or a 4-3-1-2. In the first option, Juan Cuadrado and Patrice Evra would serve wing backs. However, Cuadrado is said to have a little problem: if he can not go and is replaced by Stephan Lichtsteiner, at that point Alex Sandro, who had a particularly awful game against Genoa, would enter the lineup as well to keep it a little more offensive.
The alternative is 4-3-1-2 with Miralem Pjanic in the hole and one more body, likely Stefano Sturaro but Kwadwo Asamoah is available as well, in the midfield. I would not mind this look, because it improves the link-up between the departaments and is a little more physical. However, on that front, we get Giorgio Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio back, who were healthy but spared recently, and that is certainly an improvement. The 4-3-3 with the weird Cuadrado-Mandzukic-Higuain trident is losing momentum.
Probable lineup:
3-5-2: Buffon; Rugani, Benatia, Chiellini; Cuadrado, Khedira, Marchisio, Pjanic, Evra; Mandzukic, Higuain.
Injuries:
Bonucci (hamstring), Barzagli (shoulder), Alves (fibula), Pjaca (fibula), Mandragora (foot).
Suspensions:
None.
Atalanta
Atalanta are simply the team of the moment and the early surprise of the season. They have won eight out of the last nine matches, and six in a row, including some tough ones against Napoli, Inter and Roma. They are playing outstandingly. They have the best record on the road, but they have not had a tough away schedule and the three signature victories have all come at home, so it will be very interesting to see whether they can impose their style at the Stadium.
Their recipe is pretty simple but hard to replicate. Gian Piero Gasperini basically uses a full-court pressing with man marking all over the pitch. It is taxing, but they have an impeccable physical condition so they can sustain it at least for an hour, until the opponents wear down and therefore they can control the ball in the final portion of the match. They are very physical and they have a good counter-attacking game usually led by Alejandro Gomez, one of the best playmakers in the open court in Serie A. Thanks to the constant help of the wingbacks, they play with width and since Andrea Petagna cracked into the lineup they have a bigger presence in the box in the many crosses they produce. They are also very dangerous in the set pieces, an area where Juventus have struggled mightily.
They will be without a pretty important player: Roberto Gagliardini is disqualified and Remo Freuler is next in line in the pecking order. Freuler is decent, pretty technical, but he is not as dynamic as the Italian youngster and, as we have seen, that is a very big part of their overall plan. Alberto Grassi is more similar to Gagliardini, but he has not featured much since his return on loan from Napoli.
The other injuries include Andrea Paloschi, who has fallen out of favour rather quickly, Etrit Berisha, Abdoulay Konko, Emanuele Suagher and Roberto Cabezas. None of them is particularly significant if not for the goalkeeper, as Marco Sportiello has been surprisingly unreliable this season, maybe because he expected to move to a bigger club in the summer or because his confidence has been shaken by the fact that they acquired somebody to compete with him for the starting job. Boukary Drame is questionable, but Leonardo Spinazzola has done a good job in his place. The only other doubt is whom Rafael Toloi, who returns from a suspension, will replace: either Ervin Zukanovic or Andrea Masiello, or maybe even Mattia Caldara who is reportedly dealing with a minor ailment.
They use a 3-4-1-2 that can easily change within the course of the game. Jasmin Kurtic plays in the key role of attacking midfielder: he is a master in making sneaky cuts but also in pressing the opponents’ deep-lying playmakers. Two highlights are certainly represented by two Italian youngsters, the right back Andrea Conti and the centre-back Caldara, who both started the season behind some players in the hierarchies but have won the coach over and are performing at a very high level. Of course, then, the rookie Franck Kessie has been a revelation.
Probable lineup:
3-4-1-2: Sportiello; Masiello, Toloi, Caldara; Conti, Freuler, Kessie, Spinazzola; Kurtic; Gomez, Petagna.
Injuries:
Berisha (knee), Paloschi (hamstring), Konko (hamstring), Cabezas, Suagher (knee).
Suspensions:
Gagliardini.
Formation
Brilliant to have you back, Enrico! I hope all is well in your realm…and will add to my lexicon the usage of ‘court’! You find me fighting of the mosquitoes as I sit on the verandah of a cottage in the waitakeres of new zealand, where my beloved elfin sisterly chum has afforded me the chance to enjoy her immense efforts to form a sustainable community in the wilderness…Barely any wifi but who cares with hound, cat, chickens, roosters, goats and nowt but trees and forest in every direction…
The Atlantis game is just what we need, the perfect chance to regroup and return to both winning ways and remind the rest of Serie A that there is no crisis…we took our foot of the pedal, and now it is stamping back down.
I am pleased for Gasperini as he has always seemed a decent coach…and yet hope we crunch his blossoming starlets!
….crunch and grind, then we collect whats left and reform them into Juve players.
Kessie, Caldara, Conti and others all looking very impressive. Really looking forward to this one comrade
Great to see Pjanic finally played in a role which demands zero defensive duty. Allegri has been waiting for Sturaro and Marchisio to get fit I suspect as Lemina and Hernanes in comparison – the two we have had fit all season – are much weaker in comparison. Asamoah, another hustler has been nowhere near match sharp either…these reasons help to explain why Pjanic has been played deeper.
How high did Sami play?
Would also be great to see Pjanic play in a similar position to his Roman days, yet I suppose having Marchisio and Sturaro behind him is a little similar to the Nangollan/ De Rossi axis of muscle and hustle.
We have Dybala and Pjaca still to come back and Gonzalo above all others will be eager for the return of his compatriot, for he has been forced to play deeper in his absence, which suits Mario but not the Argie.
No chance for me to watch the whole game as barely an old dial up connection here in the tree! But glad we returned to dominant, still absent of so many players…
4-3-1-2 today 😀 reminds me of a certain UCL final. obviously that one was 4◊2 but we are slowly getting there.
I want a retry at that UCL final… We could have won it 🙁
If we manage to win consistently in serie A with a 4 men defense (feat wich nor Roma neither Napoli or Milan´s banners have been able to pull off) I think we can use 5-3-2 for the last 20 mins of every match we at an advantage. And not even that when we actually need to resort to 6-3-1. Enough already of the 5-3-2 fundamentalism (specially in this web site). 5-3-2 served its purpose, lets evolve for once after 5 nearly 6 years of success with 3-5-2. Thanks a lot 3-5-2 for what it gave us but now we need to step up to another level.
The benefits of streaming games on my phone are i get take epic screenshots like this: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cff2af2ba1cb9f2166c2d6a8c861f461d3e1785ace9bed18476afff47b492775.png
Last week it was our worst game of the season, of the year actually. This game, except until evra was brought on and we changed formation, was imo the best of this season.
Mandzukic and alex sandro had a great game. Pjanic should always be playing in this more advanced role. I don’t know if Juve playing this good today is solely on the formation change but I do believe we were missing something between midfield and attack. Juve found it now in Pjanic being the link-up between mid and att and just having more freedom on the pitch.
You guys think that Allegri should be starting the next games with this 4-3-1-2 or 4-4-2 diamond or how do you call it ?
Yeah i think he should. Atleast 4 in the back, we’ve been playing well with that every time we used it, yet we barely do. Didn’t Pjanic play in this role at Roma?
Also i think Marchisio’s return has really given the team a boost.
Asking a question. Saturday our football was more direct. I think it was the absence of bonucci that let the team play that way. When we have him we often move backwards rather than foward. We tend to utilise him as a back regista or playmaker. He usually slow the pace of the game making more difficult to penetrate organised defences. Im not saying he is a liability not even think about that but he should step up the game sometime and induce pace. Anyone sharing the same idea
Pjanic, that’s all I’ll say. So glad Sandro scored, I think he felt a sense of duty for his compatriots that lost their lives. He has become one of my favorite players, such class on and off the field. He carries himself with extraordinary professionalism and he is one hell of s human being. Cheers fellow Juventini, Guinness for the night.