Juventus vs. Genoa: 3 keys to victory on Matchday 30
Juventus vs. Genoa will take place on Sunday afternoon at the Allianz Stadium on Serie A’s Matchday 30. The Bianconeri have just bounced back from a loss to Benevento and a draw with Torino in the derby by taking down Napoli 2-1 to gain an advantage on the fourth and final Champions League slot in the league.
So far this season, Juve have beaten Genoa once in Serie A and once in the Coppa Italia, though the visitors made things difficult in the cup match the last time out. Juve needed extra time to eliminate Genoa.
Here are three keys to victory this weekend to ensure Juve don’t have to cut it so close this time around vs. Genoa.
Get Paulo Dybala in goal-scoring situations
Paulo Dybala is one of those players who is at his most lethal the closer he is to goal. He is so great operating in that right-sided channel, cutting inside on his left foot and letting those pinpoint curlers fly. We saw a textbook example of his finishing ability in these situations upon his return from injury in Wednesday’s win over Napoli.
Juventus must make sure Dybala is in situations where he does not have to dribble too much to get a strike on goal. Earlier this season, Dybala struggled because he was isolated, dropping too deep and too far away from goal. If that’s the case on Sunday, Juve could run into goal-scoring issues.
Watch for the Genoa strikers
Juventus know a thing or two about Genoa’s strikers, as they’ve been linked to both Gianluca Scamacca and Eldor Shomurodov. Scamacca will likely start next to Mattia Destro up top, though Shomurodov could also start in Scamacca’s place. It really depends.
Either way, Genoa’s striker partnership could pose a threat to Juve, particularly Destro. He is the visitors’ leading goal-scorer this season with 10, and he is also among the team’s leaders with 1.3 fouls drawn per game, according to WhoScored.com. Juventus can’t gift opportunities to Destro.
Win the ball high up the pitch
Juventus must smell the blood in the water and attack Genoa’s back three and swarm their midfielders. Genoa have good strikers, and Domenico Criscito and Davide Zappacosta are experienced Serie A defensive-minded wide players on the left-hand side of the formation. Midfielder Milan Badelj has been underrated for quite some time, too.
But aside from those guys, Genoa have serious question marks. They are a bottom-half team in Serie A for a reason, and Juve have scored thrice against them twice in 2020-2021. The Bianconeri need Rodrigo Bentancur and Adrien Rabiot to be at their ball-winning best, and a little more defensive work from the forwards wouldn’t hurt either. If the press is smart and puts in a little elbow grease, Juve can create clear-cut chances against a suspect Genoa defense.