Juventus vs. Udinese: 3 players who must step up with Juan Cuadrado out

Juventus right back/midfielder Juan Cuadrado has been suspended against Udinese, so who needs to step up in his place?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata have unsurprisingly taken most of the headlines as the attacking standouts for Juventus, but Juan Cuadrado should also earn plenty of plaudits as a key player for the Old Lady so far this season.

The experienced Serie A right back and wide midfielder has been excellent this season, particularly from a chance-creation standpoint with three assists in Serie A and five assists in the Champions League. A leader for the team, Cuadrado set up both late goals in Juve’s come-from-behind Derby Della Mole win.

Unfortunately, Cuadrado and fellow defensive leader Leonardo Bonucci let the team down on Tuesday night at the Allianz Stadium against Fiorentina. Cuadrado was sent off early in the match after a dreadful tackle, and he will be suspended on Jan. 3 when Serie A play resumes and Juve face transfer target Rodrigo De Paul’s Udinese.

Here are three players who must step up on Matchday 15.

RB Danilo

Juventus may go with Danilo as a right back if Andrea Pirlo chooses to play with a back four against Udinese. Cuadrado is the clear first-choice option at right back, but Danilo is the only real alternative. He played at the position for the Bianconeri against Fiorentina, and he was actually one of the few players who did well. Danilo isn’t much of an asset in the attack, but he can at least put in a cross on the right side as compared to the left, which is the position he was forced into this summer.

WMF Federicho Chiesa

Federico Chiesa has generally played on the left side for Juventus this season, as Pirlo likes to roll with either Cuadrado on the right or Dejan Kulusevski. It seems that even in a wing back or wide midifeld role, Pirlo prefers to have inverted players. Kulusevski and Chiesa are both great shooters, so that makes sense.

So far this season, Chiesa has acquitted himself in Turin with timely crosses and lots of hard work defensively. Even if he doesn’t directly replace Cuadrado on the right-hand side, Chiesa will still be under more pressure as a creator on the left with his deliveries to help make up for the loss of an eight-assist player in Cuadrado.

RMF/RW Dejan Kulusevski

Dejan Kulusevski’s best position is as a right winger in a 4-3-3 system, where he can cut inside and score. But he’s showing signs of integrating into Juve’s system as a true wide midfielder. Personally, I think he plays better there when he has Cuadrado overlapping and can thus move inside more, because he does a great job of capitalizing on goal-scoring opportunities in and around the box. He’s not much of a crosser when he’s playing on the right side.

So with Cuadrado out, that’s something for Kulusevski to work on if he starts for Juventus against Udinese. There are a number of ways Pirlo can use Kulusevski, so his exact role is subject to change. But if he starts, he’ll be asked to be a lot more consistent than he has been this season.