Juventus has put on their two worst performances of the season in their last two matches and now they’ll need to make a change to turn things around against Parma.
Juventus managed to survive the first bad performance, escaping last weekend’s match against Lazio with 3 points, but Atalanta made them pay for their sloppiness in an embarrassing 3-0 exit from the Coppa Italia. Even with an 11 point lead in Serie A, it would be an awful result for them to follow their first domestic loss of the season with their first league loss.
On the other hand, 12th place Parma has lost plenty of matches this season. Their recent form hasn’t been much better than their form throughout the season as they have alternated wins and losses in their last 4 matches and went 0-2-2 in the 4 before that. Like Juve, their most recent loss may actually be their most disappointing result of the year as well. They held a 2-0 lead in the second half against 17th place Empoli, but allowed goals in the 70th, 75th, and 87th minutes en route to a 3-2 loss at home.
This will be our first look at the extremely shorthanded Juventus defense that has only 2 available center backs thanks to injuries to Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, and Andrea Barazagli. Juan Cuadrado will also remain sidelined, but the rest of the team will be available. This means the team should be in their usual 4-3-3 formation as they look to get back on track.