Juventus: Possible front three against Crotone with Cristiano Ronaldo out

On Saturday night, Juventus will face Crotone without Cristiano Ronaldo after the superstar player tested positive for COVID-19.

Without Cristiano Ronaldo and Aaron Ramsey, the Juventus starting XI will look very different against Crotone on Saturday for Serie A’s Matchday 4.

Paulo Dybala’s status is also unclear, though he is reportedly working to make his return for his first start of the 2020-2021 season.

So it’s a good thing Juventus made some much-needed additions to their attack in the transfer market, most notably acquiring Federico Chiesa from Fiorentina.

According to Tuttosport’s Sergio Baldini, Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo is considering a front three of all “new” players. Alvaro Morata, acquired on loan from Atletico Madrid, would start at striker. Dejan Kulusevski, who returned from an excellent 2019-2020 loan to Parma, will start on one side. And then Chiesa would start on the other.

Juventus could start Federico Chiesa and Dejan Kulusevski

That’s an excellent front three in an emergency situation without Ronaldo and, likely, Dybala, and it speaks to the depth Juve now have in the attack. It also speaks to how badly Juve want to win the Champions League with Ronaldo in the side, as they were aggressive in acquiring Chiesa before the deadline.

Kulusevski was quiet against Roma in a less attacking role, but he was excellent as part of a two-forward system with Cristiano Ronaldo against Sampdoria. But at Roma, he played as an inverted wing back and was afforded no space. Morata played up top with Ronaldo.

It seems like Kulusevski is best on the right in a three-pronged attack, so a 4-3-3 is the likely solution for Pirlo.

Juventus fans should be excited to get a look at Chiesa in a Black and White kit, though they will also hope Morata steps up in the middle after having an understandably off night in his first match with the team after the transfer from Atleti.