Predicted Juventus lineup vs SPAL: Chiellini returns to starting lineup

Juventus remains in 1st place in Serie A, but the gap at the top remains as close as ever.

After Juve lost that match against Verona to let both Inter and Lazio make up some ground on them, they managed to take advantage of the two teams playing each other to give themselves the slightest bit of breathing room.

Their 2-0 win over Brescia paired with Lazio’s 2-1 win over Inter Milan helped keep Juve 1 point ahead of Lazio, but also build a 3 point lead over Inter.

Now they’ll need to remain focused as they go on the road to play SPAL in a match that should be an easy win for them before they turn their attention toward the Champions League.

SPAL is the polar opposite of Juventus. While Juve is trying to extend the gap between them and 2nd, SPAL is trying to close the gap between themselves and safety from relegation. They have lost 4 in a row since their stunning win at Atalanta and lost 6 of their last 7 in Serie A.

This poor run of form has seen them fall into last place, 8 points away from safety. Even at home, a point over Juventus would be shocking and it could be a huge turning point as they fight to avoid relegation.

Juventus continues to suffer from a roller coaster relationship with injuries. They finally got Giorgio Chiellini back last weekend, but Miralem Pjanic left that match after only 7 minutes.

However, Pjanic is rumored to be ready for this match (even if I don’t believe Juve will risk another injury right now).

That leaves Sami Khedira, Merih Demiral, and Douglas Costa as the only players unavailable for Juve because of injury.

They will also be without Leonardo Bonucci in this match due to yellow card accumulation. Juventus will continue to experiment with the 4-3-3 formation in this match.

GK: Wojciech Szczesny

Wojciech Szczesny collected another clean sheet against Brescia and now he’ll have a great chance to collect another against Serie A’s worst attack on Saturday.

Szczesny has continued to play at a high level this season and remains one of Juve’s most reliable players.

I can’t see Juve giving Gianluigi Buffon his record breaking start on the road, so this should certainly be a start for Szczesny. Besides, who needs to rest their keeper against SPAL? It’s shouldn’t require much more work than a day off for Szczesny anyway.