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Juventus projected lineup vs Genoa: Ronaldo leads the attack again

By John Vaccaro

TURIN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 16: Juventus player Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates 2-0 goal during the serie A match between Juventus and US Sassuolo at Allianz Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 16: Juventus player Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates 2-0 goal during the serie A match between Juventus and US Sassuolo at Allianz Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images) /
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TURIN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 16: Medhi Benatia of Juventus competes for the ball during the serie A match between Juventus and US Sassuolo at Allianz Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 16: Medhi Benatia of Juventus competes for the ball during the serie A match between Juventus and US Sassuolo at Allianz Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images) /

GK: Wojciech Szczesny

It’s become pretty clear that Szczesny has won the battle for the starting keeper position following the departure of Gianluigi Buffon. He has done a great job as Juve’s keeper this season, keeping 5 clean sheets in his 9 appearances for the year. He could be called into action more than usual in this one against the Serie scoring leader. Szczesny will need to be at his best to keep Piatek from increasing his lead atop the Serie A scoring list.

CB: Medhi Benatia

For some reason Roberto Mancini decided to start Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci in a friendly match against Ukraine last week. I don’t get it. There’s really no reason to waste one of the few friendly matches you get starting 2 of the few known commodities you have. With Chiellini and Bonucci starting that match and the following match against Poland, Massimiliano Allegri would be best served giving the two of them the day off against Genoa. This means we will see Medhi Benatia get the start here so the usual center back pairing is ready for Manchester United. Benatia will have his hands full with Piatek, but he should be able to handle the responsibility. Benatia would start for most other teams in the world, so Juve is in good hands with him available in this match.

CB: Andrea Barzagli

Andrea Barzagli will also be called into action in this match because of Mancini’s wasteful use of Chiellini and Bonucci. Barzagli isn’t quite the player he used to be, but he’s still got plenty left in the tank. With Juve limiting to occasional appearances as a rotation he is able to consistently play at his best in his starts. His size and physicality should help him neutralize Piatek as a scoring threat in this match. It isn’t ideal for Juve to not have their usual center back pairing available against the league’s leading scorer, but Benatia and Barzagli are about as good as it gets when you’re rotating starters.

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