Will Paulo Dybala start for Juventus at Atalanta on Sunday?

Juventus forward Paulo Dybala‘s injury woes have been one of the biggest issues in the Bianconeri’s 2020-2021 campaign. Last season’s MVP of Serie A, Dybala played a vital role in Juve’s Scudetto triumph, as he and Cristiano Ronaldo used their individual brilliance to help overcome serious issues elsewhere in the squad.

Without Dybala healthy, a lot of those flaws have been more exposed. And now that Inter and Milan are more competitive, Juve have fallen out of the title race and are merely playing for respect, Andrea Pirlo, and the maintenance of their spot in next year’s Champions League.

On Sunday, Juventus could get another boost with regard to Dybala. La Joya returned to great effect against Napoli, scoring off the bench in a 2-1 win. And now, he may be healthy enough to make his first start against Atalanta, who are an even more dangerous side than Napoli.

TuttoJuve.com’s Mirko Di Natale reports, via @JuveFanInfoFR, Paulo Dybala could start at the Gewiss Stadium on Serie A’s Matchday 31. Dybala is “doing well” and should be healthy enough to play a full 90 minutes.

How often has Dybala played the full 90 in 2020-2021? It has happened just four times in Serie A, with his last full appearance coming on Jan. 4 in a 4-1 win over Udinese. That means Dybala has not started a match in more than three months. These very facts show you just how much Dybala has been missed, and his goal against Napoli was an immediate example of exactly what Juventus are missing without him in the XI.

Hopefully, Dybala can start against Atalanta and match their attacking firepower. Juventus won’t want to take any unnecessary risks with La Joya, even against another top Serie A side. But it sure would be nice to have one of the league’s best players back in the starting lineup.