Playing for 90
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Predicted Juventus lineup vs Udinese: Matthijs de Ligt reclaims starting spot in Coppa Italia

By John Vaccaro

Juventus' Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt (L) saves a ball on the goal line during the Italian Serie A football match Atalanta Bergamo vs Juventus on November 23, 2019 at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium in Bergamo. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)
Juventus' Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt (L) saves a ball on the goal line during the Italian Serie A football match Atalanta Bergamo vs Juventus on November 23, 2019 at the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium in Bergamo. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images) /
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JUVENTUS STADIUM, TURIN, ITALY – 2019/10/22: Miralem Pjanic of Juventus FC kicks the ball during the UEFA Champions League football match between Juventus FC and FC Lokomotiv Moscow. Juventus FC won 2-1 over FC Lokomotiv Moscow. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
JUVENTUS STADIUM, TURIN, ITALY – 2019/10/22: Miralem Pjanic of Juventus FC kicks the ball during the UEFA Champions League football match between Juventus FC and FC Lokomotiv Moscow. Juventus FC won 2-1 over FC Lokomotiv Moscow. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images) /

CM: Blaise Matuidi

Blaise Matuidi was a Ronaldo finish away from having his best match of the season over the weekend. Unfortunately, his perfect cross went unrewarded and now he is left in an odd position. He is going to start this match unless the injury he suffered against proves more sever than it originally seemed (he finished the match). However, this could very well be his last start for a little while. Rodrigo Bentancur will be returning after this match and Adrien Rabiot has been outplaying Matuidi recently. If he can make an offensive impact on this match then he might be able to save his starting job, but there just hasn’t been much this season to make me believe he’s going to make an attacking contribution in this match.

CM: Miralem Pjanic

Miralem Pjanic was a disappointment on Sunday, but that definitely isn’t going to cost him his spot in the starting lineup. In that match, we didn’t see him take on the role that Maurizio Sarri supposedly envisioned for him when he joined this team. However, this team is supposed to be growing as they become more and more comfortable with Sarri’s system, so Pjanic’s surprisingly low 69 touches should prove to be an anomaly as we move through the season. So far this season, we haven’t seen the Pjanic who delivers the decisive passes in matches, but the squad continuing to adjust to their manager could just be what he needs to bring out that player.

CM: Adrien Rabiot

Adrien Rabiot has been coming for Blaise Matuidi’s starting job over the last month. First it was his more productive passing that had him suddenly fitting into Juve’s scheme. Now he’s made a big defensive play to protect a Juve lead over this last weekend. There is no reason to believe that Rabiot won’t be starting this match and I don’t really see any reason not to leave him in the starting lineup past that. What he does in this match just might determine whether or not Sarri agrees with me over the weekend.

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