Juventus: The ideal starting front three without Cristiano Ronaldo

Juventus will be without Cristiano Ronaldo, who has COVID-19, so what is the ideal attacking trio without the Portuguese superstar?

On Tuesday evening, Juventus must face Dynamo Kyiv in their Champions League opener without Cristiano Ronaldo in the lineup, as he has tested positive for COVID-19.

This past Saturday, Juve started Alvaro Morata up top with Manolo Portanova and Dejan Kulusevski behind them. Gianluca Fabrotta and new acquisition Federico Chiesa were the wing backs in this setup.

But who would be the ideal trio for Juve to start this week against Dynamo Kyiv and Verona without Ronaldo? How does that change if Paulo Dybala is available?

Firstly, if Dybala is ready to return – and there are reports that he is close – then he is a sure-fire starter. The question is, where?

Should Juventus start Paulo Dybala in the center or on the right?

Dybala can start in the middle, but he’s also highly effective cutting in from the right. Then again, so is Kulusevski. But if Dybala starts in the middle, where does that leave Morata? The new striker is looking quite promising, judging by his goal (and disallowed goal) against Crotone.

No matter what way you split it, Dybala is a must-start when he is at 100 percent. He was Serie A’s deserving MVP last year and is a game-changer in the lineup.

Kulusevski is another game-changer, as he showed against Sampdoria and throughout 2019-2020 while on loan at Parma.

Chiesa should start, too. His industry and crossing provide so much to Juventus. He can either play on the left side or on the right as a wing back. But if he plays on the right as a wing back, Juan Cuadrado isn’t in the lineup, except as an inverted left back. However, playing Cuadrado on the left isn’t the best use of his skill-set, as we saw against Roma.

Juventus have so much attacking quality now

A front three of Dybala in the middle, Chiesa on the left, and Kulusevski on the right is young, exciting, and filled with technical flair and quality. It is an ideal trio in terms of talent, with Morata able to come off the bench if Juventus need to chase goals.

With those three players, Juve can play fluid, attacking football, using Cuadrado and either Frabotta or Alex Sandro as the wing backs behind them.

All this young talent is exciting to see in Turin, and it’s incredible to think that one year after having no options, Juventus are so rich in attacking talent that they can still thrive without Cristiano Ronaldo in the XI.