Juventus projected lineup for clash with Napoli for 1st place
By John Vaccaro
CM: Miralem Pjanic
Miralem Pjanic was brought in before the 2016-17 season to fill the hole left by Andrea Pirlo’s departure a year earlier. While nobody else will ever be Pirlo, Pjanic does one hell of an impression. He is one of the most dangerous free kick takers in the world, showed just last week that he can be relied on to take penalties, and has been successfully directing the attack since his arrival at Juve. He will always been trusted to start these matches and at just 28 years old we’ll probably see him in this spot for a long time.
CM: Blaise Matuidi
Blaise Matuidi has been a great pickup for Juve. When Massimiliano Allegri decides to play the 4-3-3, Matuidi controls the middle of the field in his box-to-box role. He has stifled opposing attacks before they could even begin to develop a threat. He is one of Juve’s leading tacklers and has even managed to contribute to the attack. He has had two perfect finishes this season and his first shot against Bologna led to Paulo Dybala’s first goal of the year. Matuidi will be the most important midfielder in this match for Juve. It will be up to him to shut down Napoli’s midfield before they can get their prolific attack involved.
CM: Emre Can
This probably wasn’t ever supposed to be Emre Can, but Sami Khedira’s injury has opened up a big opportunity for Can. However, he arguably should be getting these starts even when Khedira is healthy. Can is a very good passer and capable defender. Khedira doesn’t really offer have much to offer Juve at this point in his career. This is a big opportunity for the 24 year old Can and a good performance here could be the first step toward a long career of starts in big moments like these.