Predicted Juventus lineup vs Roma: Bentancur reclaims starting spot in Coppa Italia

CM: Blaise Matuidi

I remain unimpressed by Blaise Matuidi, but I think this is a good chance for Juve to give him one last chance to save his job. If he performs well then he just remains in the starting lineup or the next match, but if he holds up the attack like he usually does, then this match at least gives Adrien Rabiot a rest before he takes this spot over. Matuidi was alright against Parma on Sunday, but I didn’t see anything we haven’t already seen from him. His defensive contributions were stronger than they had been lately, but the assist he was credited for didn’t really require anything special from him. This should be Matuidi’s last chance to keep Rabiot from taking his job. Let’s see if he can capitalize.

CM: Miralem Pjanic

We were promised a few things when Maurizio Sarri took over as Juve’s manager. One of those was a more enjoyable style of attacking football. Another was a revival for Miralem Pjanic, who would be pulling the strings for this imposing attack. We haven’t gotten either of those things yet. Pjanic continues to pass the ball conservatively in most matches and doesn’t create the decisive moments we hope for. I don’t know if its because this midfield as a whole isn’t what we expected (playing alongside Matuidi probably hasn’t helped) or because the squad is struggling to transition to Sarriball. Whatever the issue is, Juve needs to get more out of Pjanic in the second half of the season if they’re going to become the attacking force we were promised.

CM: Rodrigo Bentancur

Rodrigo Bentancur has spent most of the new year on the sidelines because of the suspension he picked up in the Supercoppa Italiana, but he’s back now and should slide right back into his starting job. He actually started Juve’s last Coppa match in the midst of that suspension and did a great job as a replacement for Pjanic. He’ll go back to his usual role alongside Pjanic in this match, but I expect to see another strong performance out of him. Hopefully he can erase the memory of his red card against Lazio in his return from the suspension.