Juventus: 3 things to look forward to in the Coppa Italia Final

Revenge on Atalanta

Juventus may not make it to the Champions League next season, whereas Atalanta pretty much have second sewn up after finding a new gear in the final weeks of the season. They replaced Papu Gomez, who left for Sevilla after a spat with Gian Piero Gasperini, with Ruslan Malinovsky in the XI. And Malinovsky has shown incredible chemistry with his teammates, especially Duvan Zapata. His breakout embodies the way Atalanta keep moving forward.

Malinovsky was the one who scored in a recent 1-0 win over Juventus, which was a big blow to the Bianconeri in the top-four race. Juve drew Atalanta earlier this season and drew the Bergamo-based club last summer. So that’s three straight meetings without a win, including one very tough loss, against a club Juventus normally beat.

You just know the Juventus players are itching to get back on the pitch and beat Atalanta in an incredibly meaningful match – a cup final, no less.

In these matches against Juve, the Bianconeri themselves have been to blame for their inability to get three points. They were suspect defensively last summer, wasted many chances in the second, and were downright horrible offensively in the recent 1-0 loss.

Now is a chance for Andrea Pirlo to rectify all that, beat Gasperini, and win his second cup as a coach.