Juventus will look to finally return to winning ways on Wednesday when they welcome relegation strugglers Lecce to the Allianz Stadium.
Battles at both ends of the table will feature in a packed schedule of Serie A games this midweek. The result of Juventus vs Lecce is set to have an impact on the Champions League race and the relegation battle. Massimiliano Allegri’s side are looking to tighten their grip on a top-four spot, while Lecce are just four points above the relegation zone.
Despite having a difficult season, Juventus still have a good chance to qualify for the Champions League. Of course, everything about their position depends on the court and its decision about eventual punishment. But having successfully appealed a 15-point deduction, they now find themselves in the Champions League spots. However, they are only three points ahead of AC Milan and Inter Milan in fifth and sixth, respectively.
The Bianconeri fell into a slump in April, winning just two out of eight games while getting knocked out of the Coppa Italia after falling to a 2-1 aggregate defeat at the hands of Inter Milan in the semi-finals as they failed to show up at the Giuseppe Meazza, producing a hollow display.
They followed it up by playing out another uninspiring 1-1 draw against Bologna. Looking to snap a five-game winless streak when they entertain Lecce, Allegri & co. will be hopeful they can still salvage the season by winning the Europa League and finishing in the top four.
On the other hand, Lecce are only above the bottom three by four points. And they can easily be sucked into the relegation spots this weekend. Their only positive right now is their superior goal difference after conceding just 38 goals.
The relegation-fighting side does, however, have a tough run-in towards the end of the season out of those in the bottom five, with Lazio to come, while they play in must-win six-pointers against Spezia and Hellas Verona.
But Marco Baroni’s side at least snapped their horrendous eight-game winless streak with a huge 1-0 victory over Udinese last Friday. Juventus won the reverse fixture 1-0 back in late October, with Nicolo Fagioli and Samuel Iling-Junior combining to score the only goal of the game.
Team News & Tactics
Juventus
🎙 Allegri: "The attitude of the team in Bologna was positive, we created a lot, but we made a lot of mistakes in front of goal. We need to improve on this. Tomorrow will be a different match against Lecce."#JuveLecce pic.twitter.com/zN0vBSQuT8
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) May 2, 2023
There have been a lot of rumours swirling around about Massimiliano Allegri’s future as Juventus’s head coach moving forward. The team is underperforming while playing turgid football. And after another bad result on Sunday against Bologna, Juventus’s board stated that no matter what happens in the remainder of the season, Allegri will remain their head coach for next season.
Juventus will be without Kaio Jorge and Moise Kean until next season due to long-term injuries. But, with the hosts still on Europa League duty, he will look to freshen things up. And the fit-again Paul Pogba could start his first league game of the season. A switch to Allegri’s most-used 3-5-2 formation is expected as he looks to fit the 2018 World Cup winner in the starting lineup.
Wojciech Szczesny will start here, while there are likely to be a few changes in defence. Daniele Rugani is in line to start at the heart of the back three, affording Alex Sandro a rest, while Danilo and Federico Gatti should continue to be part of the rearguard.
Filip Kostic is a mainstay on the left flank, with youngster Samuel Iling-Junior likely to be handed a chance to impress on the opposite flank. The onus will also be on the midfield trio of Adrien Rabiot, Manuel Locatelli, and Paul Pogba to provide the creative impetus and forward thrust from the middle of the park, as well as shore up the defensive side of things for Juventus, who must be wary of the threat Lecce could pose on turnovers.
Having played a limited role in recent weeks due to an ankle problem, the in-demand Dusan Vlahovic is pushing for a start here and may well get one against Lecce. With Angel Di Maria still not fully fit, Arkadiusz Milik could be retained up front ahead of Federico Chiesa, Matias Soule, and Fabio Miretti, all of whom will make the bench.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Szczesny; Danilo, Rugani, Gatti; Di Maria, Locatelli, Rabiot, Pogba, Kostic; Milik, Vlahovic
Lecce
Giuseppe Pezzella, Lorenzo Colombo, Marin Pongracic, and Kastriot Dermaku are injury doubts for the forthcoming game against Juventus. After a big victory against Udinese, Lecce’s head coach, Marco Baroni, was very pleased.
He claimed that Lecce have been playing very well for most of the season. So they are full of confidence for the final push to stay in the league. Still, expect Baroni to make a few changes to keep his side fresh for the busy run-in.
Italian goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone is the first choice between the sticks for Lecce, and no change is expected there on Wednesday. Samuel Umtiti, and Federico Baschirotto ought to continue as the two centre-backs for the visitors, flanked by Antonino Gallo and Valentin Gendrey.
There could be a change in the midfield trio, with Kristoffer Askildsen likely to return to the side, whereas captain Morten Hjulmand and Alexis Blin should keep their midfield spots.
The club’s top scorer, Gabriel Strefezza, made no mistake from the penalty spot to give his team a huge three-pointer in the battle to avoid relegation and could also come back into the starting XI here. Assan Ceesay will spearhead the attack, while Youssef Maleh will look to find the balance between foraying forward and supporting his full-back.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Falcone; Gallo, Umtiti, Baschirotto, Gendrey; Askildsen, Hjulmand, Blin; Strefezza, Ceesay, Maleh
Key Stats
- Lecce have lost their last four away from home without troubling the scorers.
- Juventus have won seven of their last ten at home, keeping clean sheets in six of those victories.
- Juventus are winless in their last five games, having scored only three goals in the last six.
- The visitors are in even worse scoring form, having scored just three goals in the last nine matches.
- The Bianconeri have conceded 27 goals in Serie A this season. Only Lazio (24) and league leaders Napoli (22) have conceded fewer.
Player to Watch
Arkadiusz Milik
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Milik has mostly featured in a fringe role in the past couple of months. But with Moise Kean suffering a season-ending injury, the Pole have a big chance to impress in the final few games of the season. Against Bologna, he looked like the Bianconeri’s most likely player to get on the scoresheet.
He won a penalty kick but failed to convert it. Luckily, he made up for it by putting a low drive past his compatriot Lukasz Skorupski in the second half. He’s Juventus’ second-top scorer with seven goals and will be looking to add to his tally here.
Prediction
Juventus 1-0 Lecce
Goals could be few and far between in this one given the Old Lady have not been in particularly good scoring form. And Lecce, who are on a serious goal drought themselves, are likely to set up to frustrate their hosts, with their survival on the line. Juventus may be without a win in five games, but their struggles have primarily taken place away from the Allianz Stadium in Turin, where they have won seven of their last ten games.
They have kept a clean sheet in six of those victories. And The Hard Tackle predicts the hosts to beat Lecce without conceding a goal thanks to the visitors’ dreadful scoring form. A slender but comfortable 1-0 Juventus victory could well be on the cards this Wednesday evening.