Juventus' Portuguese forward Francisco Conceicao during a training session on Tuesday. — AFP
Manchester City, currently in the midst of a crisis unlike any they've faced under the legendary Pep Guardiola, will face off against Juventus on Wednesday. The English champions are struggling, while Juventus is dealing with issues of its own.
On Saturday night, Juventus was met with boos and whistles from their fans after they managed to come back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with mid-table Bologna. Fans had hoped for a change in fortunes when coach Thiago Motta left Bologna to take over from Massimiliano Allegri in the summer, but they have been disappointed by a series of four consecutive draws, leaving Juve behind in both domestic and European competitions.
Had Juventus been in better form, Wednesday's match would have been an ideal chance to overtake City in the Champions League standings, where the Italians currently sit 19th, just behind their Premier League rivals on goal difference.
"I don't think there is a best time to play Manchester City, but we will face the match as we always do, by trying to stop them from playing their football and impose our own play on them," Motta said on Saturday.
Juventus has drawn 11 of their 20 matches this season across all competitions and is seven points behind Serie A leaders Atalanta after 15 matches, a far cry from the start the club had hoped for.
With only two wins from nine matches in all competitions, including a deserved home defeat to Stuttgart in October, the alarm bells are ringing. John Elkann, the CEO of Exor and a key figure in the Agnelli family that controls Juventus, visited the club's Continassa training ground on Monday.
"I leave it to you to judge my work," Motta told reporters. "All I do is keep working with the boys to improve and face our opponents with the right attitude."
Motta has been hampered by a significant injury crisis that has affected his squad in the first half of the season. On Saturday, it appeared that full-back Andrea Cambiaso had also been injured, but fortunately, his ankle injury is less severe than initially feared, and he could be fit for Wednesday's match. Douglas Luiz is also expected to return to the midfield after two months out.
Weston McKennie is set to rejoin the squad after missing the last three matches, but Motta is still without at least four players, including defenders Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal, who are unavailable until the end of the season.
Motta does have a recognized center-forward in Dusan Vlahovic, who returned to action against Bologna and assisted in the equalizer during stoppage time. Vlahovic's deputy, Arkadiusz Milik, has been out since June with a meniscus injury in his left knee and underwent a second operation in November to address the issue.
Source link: https://www.khaleejtimes.com
