Juventus at Spezia: 5 key players to watch on Matchday 6

Juventus will face Spezia on the road this Sunday afternoon. Here are five players to watch closely on Matchday 6 of Serie A.

Andrea Pirlo needs to find some answers this weekend. Juventus are coming off three straight draws in Serie A against Roma, Crotone, and Verona. The last two results have been particularly disappointing, as a club like Juve is thoroughly expected to earn the full three points against Verona and Crotone. And the same can be said for their Matchday 6 opponents, Spezia.

It doesn’t help that Juventus are coming off a disasterclass against Barcelona, losing 2-0 in a game that could have easily been worse for the Bianconeri. Nothing less than a win will be acceptable on Sunday at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi.

Let’s look at five key players to watch on Juve.

RWB Federico Chiesa

Usually deployed as a wing back, Federico Chiesa has a sweet delivery with his right foot and has impressed early into his Juventus career. But Chiesa isn’t perfect, of course. His discipline and decision-making need some improvement, and that should happen as he gains more minutes with the Bianconeri.

What helps Juve the most is that Chiesa never stops running. He is one of the hardest workers on the team, and that has earned him respect from the Bianconeri already. Hopefully, he’ll turn in another positive performance for the club at Spezia.

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• Leonardo Bonucci may be leaving Juventus soon

FW Dejan Kulusevski

Andrea Pirlo can line up Dejan Kulusevski in a few positions. He can play him as a left wing back and use Kulusevski as a chance-creator, he can play him through the middle as an attacking midfielder, or he can play him on the left as a forward or winger.

Kulusevski is a goal-scoring threat who is at his best on the right side of the attack, but the same could be said for Paulo Dybala.

How Juve use Kulusevski and Dybala together with Cristiano Ronaldo out has been a big story, and, so far, Pirlo has yet to find the right formula. Both players were absolutely horrendous at mid-week against Barcelona, offering precisely zero threat.

CB Danilo

Danilo has been Juventus’ most impressive player in 2020-2021 in terms of the consistency of his performances. Who saw that coming? Along with Alvaro Morata, Danilo was the only outfield player who legitimately played a complete game against Barcelona this week. WhoScored.com had him credited with eight tackles and four interceptions, which is simply phenomenal.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester City man has received plenty of criticism for his inability to help going forward, but his intelligent reading of the game and experience have made him an excellent left or right-sided center back in Pirlo’s back three. He could have a big say on this weekend’s match against Spezia, too.

CM Arthur Melo

Although Adrien Rabiot is a talented player and Schalke loanee Weston McKennie has potential, Arthur Melo is clearly the classiest player in the Juventus midfield. Arthur put in a strong shift defensively last weekend against Verona, even if the team didn’t play as well as they would have liked as a whole.

It still seems like Arthur hasn’t fully integrated into the team in terms of his output on the offensive end. He needs to keep developing chemistry with the forwards, especially recently-returned superstar Paulo Dybala.

Once that happens, Juventus could be rolling. Arthur will be worth watching closely this weekend at Spezia from the perspective of his offensive contributions.

ST Alvaro Morata

Alvaro Morata has been a revelation since joining Juventus again as a loanee from Atletico Madrid, and perhaps he could earn himself a permanent transfer if he keeps playing like this. Morata has been robbed a few times by VAR, as they have been close calls. Yes, the striker could do a better job of being more aware of where his body his positioned in relation to the offside line, but it’s a big positive that he’s getting into dangerous positions and finishing.

It looks like Morata is filling a valuable role for Juventus as a poacher. The No. 9 has been a big upgrade on Gonzalo Higuain both athletically and in terms of goal-scoring threat. He’s done his best to keep the Bianconeri afloat without Cristiano Ronaldo, whose impact on the attack has been sorely missed.

Look for Morata to find the back of the net against Spezia on Sunday afternoon. He is the man in-form for the Juve attack.