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Juventus projected lineup vs Sassuolo: Ronaldo continues goal chase, Dybala returns

By John Vaccaro

Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus FC) during the Serie A football match between Juventus FC and SS Lazio at Allianz Stadium on august 25, 2018 in Turin, Italy.Juventus FC won 2-0 over SS Lazio. (Photo by Massimiliano Ferraro/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus FC) during the Serie A football match between Juventus FC and SS Lazio at Allianz Stadium on august 25, 2018 in Turin, Italy.Juventus FC won 2-0 over SS Lazio. (Photo by Massimiliano Ferraro/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /
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MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 28: Daniele Rugani (R) of Juventus FC competes for the ball with Alessio Romagnoli (L) of AC Milan during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Juventus at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 28, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 28: Daniele Rugani (R) of Juventus FC competes for the ball with Alessio Romagnoli (L) of AC Milan during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Juventus at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 28, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) /

CB: Mehdi Benatia

The packed upcoming schedule will benefit Juve’s substitute center backs the most in the coming weeks. Mehdi Benatia was a key part of Juve’s defense last season, but was relegated to the bench when they brought Leonardo Bonucci back. The need to rotate out the older center back pairing in preparation for the Champions League will give players like Benatia a chance to carve out a role for the rest of the season.

Benatia’s play last season made him Juve’s first choice to pair with Giorgio Chiellini in the biggest matches of the year. Opportunities like these will give him the chance to refund that form and hopefully convince him to stick around as Juve is short on center back options.

CB: Daniele Rugani

This one was a tough call to make between Daniele Rugani and Andrea Barzagli. However, Rugani has the benefit of youth and that is why he will be the pick here. Juventus has an aging group of center backs and needs to continue to give opportunities to the one younger option they have. Rugani has the potential to start for Juve for a long time once the older options have retired or left the squad.

This is the major benefit of being Juventus. Even when they need to rotate the squad they still have plenty of viable options on defense. They will take every opportunity they can get to continue Rugani’s development and this is the perfect chance to do it. While neither of these players will make Juve’s first choice starting lineup this season, we can expect to see them get plenty of action when Juve wants to rest Chiellini and Bonucci.

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