A sick Juventus team returns to Serie A duty on Saturday when they travel to winless Lecce at Stadio Via del Mare. This follows their midweek exit from Europe.
Juventus is now set to drop into the Europa League after being defeated for the fourth time in five Champions League matches, but first they must gain ground on the seven clubs above them in Italy as they look for their third straight league victory.
Juventus travelled to Lisbon on Wednesday with the goal of stopping the rot in Champions League Group H. Juventus was already on the verge of elimination after being humiliated by Maccabi Haifa the previous time out.
Rather, they suffered an unexpected fourth loss from five in the group stage of the competition, ending any chance they had of catching their opponents, Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain, who are now eight points ahead of Max Allegri’s team.
Juve made the scoreline at Estadio da Luz more bearable by coming back through Arkadiusz Milik and Weston McKennie after falling behind by three goals by the 50th minute, but a 4-3 loss keeps the pressure on their harshly criticised coach.
Juventus is out of the elite club competition in Europe before the knockout rounds for the first time since 2013, but despite their recent decline, they had consistently made it there. In Serie A, where his team already trails league leaders Napoli by a margin of 10 points, Allegri must pick himself up and try again.
The Bianconeri appeared to be back on track after two straight victories without giving up a goal—in the Turin derby and then last week’s 4-0 victory over Empoli—but losing in Lecce would be a bitter disappointment.
A frustrated Juve board would be put to the test if they lost to a promoted club, who they have only lost to four times in their last 32 meetings. They have already lost to Haifa and Monza this season.
In fact, Lecce’s last victory over their guests occurred in February 2011, and since then, two games involving Juventus and two involving two very different clubs have ended in draws.
The team led by Marco Baroni has drawn 1-1 in each of their last four league contests at Via del Mare, and they have a chance to finish even in five straight home games for the first time in Serie A history.
Given the calibre of their opponents, the Giallorossi, who are currently just two points above the drop zone after being promoted as Serie B champions, could use a win like that. They have had a difficult time adjusting to life in the top division.
Even after losing to fellow underachievers Bologna by a score of 2-0 the previous time out, Lecce has only won one league game this year. However, they have only ever suffered a home defeat and are much more formidable in their southern stronghold.
Baroni has seen his team give up nine goals from set pieces so far, which is a joint-high in Serie A, despite the fact that they have the best defensive record in the bottom half of the table. Juventus have scored more goals from dead ball situations than any other team besides free-scoring Napoli, so that could be a big issue on Saturday.
Although it ultimately resulted in Lisbon’s defeat, Juventus could keep using their recent 3-5-2 formation with a personnel shuffle; Dusan Vlahovic might even get a break.
Samuel Iling-Junior, a 19-year-old English player who had a significant impact on the game midweek, as well as Fabio Miretti and Federico Gatti, who are also vying for Serie A selection, could play again. The latter could remain as one of Max Allegri’s back three moving forward.
Federico Chiesa, an Italian international who missed the majority of 2022 due to an ACL injury, might participate for the first time in nearly 300 days, even though Paul Pogba is still not fully healthy. He scored and contributed an assist against Lecce in his lone previous league match while playing for his former club Fiorentina.
Bremer and Mattia De Sciglio are the visitors’ defensive absences, while Angel Di Maria and fellow Argentine Leandro Paredes are still out.Bremer and Mattia De Sciglio are the visitors’ defensive absences, while Angel Di Maria and fellow Argentine Leandro Paredes are still out.
In the meantime, Antonino Gallo has returned from suspension for Lecce, so Giuseppe Pezzella’s position at left-back could be in jeopardy.
Despite the Salentini’s struggles to score, Brazilian forward Gabriel Strefezza has four goals to his credit this season and should once again start in Marco Baroni’s front three.
The head coach of the home team benefits from having a fully fit squad to choose from and can rely on Samuel Umtiti’s invaluable experience at the back.
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Baschirotto, Pongracic, Samuel Umtiti, Pezzella; Gonzalez, Hjulmand, Askildsen; Strefezza, Ceesay, Banda
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, Gatti; Cuadrado, McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Milik, Moise Kean
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