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Juventus: Three hopes, one fear

By Sean Maslin

EMPOLI, ITALY - OCTOBER 02: Paulo Dybala of Juventus FC in action during the Serie A match between Empoli FC and Juventus FC at Stadio Carlo Castellani on October 2, 2016 in Empoli, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
EMPOLI, ITALY - OCTOBER 02: Paulo Dybala of Juventus FC in action during the Serie A match between Empoli FC and Juventus FC at Stadio Carlo Castellani on October 2, 2016 in Empoli, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images) /
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MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 18: Miranda of FC Internazionale (L) and Mario Mandzukic of Juventus FC compete for the ball during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Juventus FC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 18, 2016 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa – Inter/Inter via Getty Images)
MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 18: Miranda of FC Internazionale (L) and Mario Mandzukic of Juventus FC compete for the ball during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Juventus FC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 18, 2016 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa – Inter/Inter via Getty Images) /

Hope #2: That Mario Mandzukic can work with Higuain up top.

Money aside, the big question for the Higuain-Juventus relationship is how he will work with Mario Mandzukic. Last season, Mandzukic was the straw that stirred the drink that was the Juventus attack serving up passes for either Paulo Dybala (23 goals in 2015-2016) or Alvaro Morata (12 goals in 2015-2016). The hope is that Higuain can not only take the place of Morata in Allegri’s 4-4-2 but overlap well with Dybala in the eighteen.

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Mandzukic’s attacking numbers are not exactly eye-catching (10 goals in 2015-2016) but a lot of his work cannot be measured in statistics. Sine his passes are so crisp and so accurate he often draws an extra attacker. If he can break open an attacking chance it gives his strike partner the perfect opportunity to score. That should work to Higuain’s advantage. In his professional career Higuain has been at his best when his sole responsibility is to score. He is not a poor play maker but he works better when in a partnership up top.

What will be interesting to see is if Allegri attempts to go with a 4-3-3 with Mandzukic, Higuain, and Dybala up top. Higuain and Dybala fill a very similar role for Juventus so there is a question of whether there might be too much of a good thing for the team. But it might be something Allegri will want to try against poorer Serie A sides with the hope of possibly using it late in the Champions League.

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