Playing for 90
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
TURIN, ITALY – MARCH 11: Paulo Dybala of Juventus celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the serie A match between Juventus and Udinese Calcio on March 11, 2018 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY – MARCH 11: Paulo Dybala of Juventus celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the serie A match between Juventus and Udinese Calcio on March 11, 2018 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images) /

LW: Douglas Costa

Costa will be sacrificed here to protect the 4-3-3 for Wednesday. There’s a rumor that Ronaldo will be playing up front for this match and Mario Mandzukic will be rested for the match against Valencia. He started both of Brazil’s matches during the international break, but will still be used for this match as he’s the only option left to play on the left wing.

This is good news for Juve’s attempt to remain perfect in Serie A, but means Costa will likely miss the Champions League match. This is another perk of being Juventus. They can start Costa in the league on a Sunday and then Bernardeschi in the Champions League on Wednesday. It looks like he’ll need to put in some good performances in those league appearances to completely reclaim his Champions League spot.

CAM: Paulo Dybala

The prodigal son returns to the starting lineup. Much like we saw throughout last year, Paulo Dybala was passed over for Juve’s last two matches as they switched to he 4-3-3. This led to him also being benched by Argentina during the international break and has probably pushed him closer to an exit. A start here should lessen his disappointment for now, but if he’s only starting this match so Juve can go to the 4-3-3 on Wednesday then his contentment won’t last for long.

Dybala needs to make this match count as he’s losing his grip on his starting spot with Juve. A memorable performance would go a long way toward getting Allegri back on his side.

RW: Juan Cuadrado

Let’s face it, Juan Cuadrado looked pretty awful as a right back against Parma. However, we can expect a lot better out of him when he moves back to the right wing. Allegri needs to find matches to start him on the wing to keep him happy. This is a perfect opportunity to rotate him in and keep Bernardeschi and Ronaldo fresh for Wednesday.

It will be important to keep Cuadrado in-form and happy so he can continue to make positive contributions when Juve needs to rotate and so he doesn’t ask to leave in January. Hopefully he looks better Sunday than he did in his appearance as a right back.

Home/Serie A