Juventus Predicted XI against Sampdoria: A must-win game

Juventus will face Sampdoria on Sunday night, and they cannot afford to drop points again.

It seemed like Juventus had turned the corner on Monday when they defeated former Serie A title contenders Lazio 2-1, but the Old Lady got back to their disappointing ways on Thursday in a 2-1 loss to Udinese.

The Bianconeri completely blew the game, looking sluggish offensively before Seko Fofana scored a stoppage time goal to give the home side an upset victory. Juve should have sealed the Scudetto by defeating Udinese, but the only goal they could muster was a wondergoal from well beyond the box by center back Matthijs de Ligt.

Now Sunday’s home game against Sampdoria, who rank one spot ahead of Udinese in the table in 14th, has become a must-win. Nothing less than the full three points will do for Maurizio Sarri, whose managing has rightfully come under fire in recent weeks.

Here is how the Old Lady could line up their starting XI on Sunday night at the Allianz Stadium.

GK Wojciech Szczesny

Maybe Wojciech Szczesny could have done better against Udinese, but no fair analyst would blame the Polish goalkeeper for Juve’s poor results recently. All of this is on the defense, which has been abysmal, apart from Matthijs de Ligt. Injuries and suspensions haven’t helped, but whether it’s Daniele Rugani or first-choice player Leonardo Bonucci, a center back is failing “Tek”.