Juventus head into their penultimate Serie A clash of 2021 fresh off a rare free week following their 1-1 draw away at Venezia last Saturday.
The Bianconeri had built up some momentum ahead of last weekend’s bout, but their uninspiring performance in Venice amid Massimiliano Allegri’s return to the 4-4-2 has many believing that Juve are back to square one.
Fiorentina and AS Roma’s respective victories on Matchday 17 leaves Juve seventh in the Serie A table with Bologna just four points adrift in tenth. Siniša Mihajlović’s side have won just two of their last five and head into this one having suffered back-to-back defeats.
For Juventus, this is their first return to the ground where they claimed a top-four spot on the last day of the 2020/21 Serie A season.
Here’s our preview of Saturday’s match between Bologna and Juve.
How to Watch Bologna vs Juventus
When is kick-off? Saturday 18 December
What time is kick-off? 17:00 (BST)
Where is it played? Stadio Renato Dall’Ara
TV channel/live stream? BT Sport 1 (UK), Paramount+
Bologna Team News
Nicolas Dominguez will return after serving his one-game suspension in the defeat to Torino. The Argentine’s comeback is a big boost for the hosts.
Kingsley Michael, Jerdy Schouten and Ibrahima Mbaye are all injury doubts.
Juventus Team News
📹 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛: The Bianconeri’s Wednesday work ahead of #BolognaJuve 🏃♂️⚽️
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) December 15, 2021
Full training video available here ⤵️
Weston McKennie and Dejan Kulusevski returned to training in the week and both are expected to make Allegri’s matchday squad. Kulusevski could replace Paulo Dybala in the starting XI with the Argentine poised to be rested for Juve’s final two games of the year.
Aaron Ramsey, Danilo and Federico Chiesa remain out for the visitors.
Bologna vs Juventus Predicted Lineups
Bologna: Skorupski; Soumaoro, Medel, Theate; De Silvestri, Dominguez, Svanberg, Hickey; Skov Olsen, Barrow; Arnautovic.
Juventus: Szczesny; De Sciglio, De Ligt, Chiellini, Pellegrini; Locatelli, Bentancur; Kulusevski, McKennie, Bernardeschi; Morata.
Bologna’s Recent Form
Torino 2-1 Bologna (12/12) – Serie A
Bologna 2-3 Fiorentina (05/12) – Serie A
Bologna 1-0 AS Roma (01/12) – Serie A
Spezia 0-1 Bologna (28/11) – Serie A
Bologna 0-1 Venezia (21/11) – Serie A
Juventus’ Recent Form
Venezia 1-1 Juventus (11/12) – Serie A
Juventus 1-0 Malmo (08/12) – Champions League
Juventus 2-0 Genoa (05/12) – Serie A
Salernitana 0-2 Juventus (30/11) – Serie A
Juventus 0-1 Atalanta (27/11) – Serie A
Prediction
Paulo Dybala’s expected absence is a big blow for Juve and it’ll be interesting to see whether Allegri risks the blocking space and counter-attacking approach on Saturday.
That’s been the default plan from the Juve boss in La Joya’s absence, but the backlash he’ll receive should it prove unsuccessful may deter Allegri and, instead, he could return to the 4-2-3-1 that facilitated dynamic performances in the victories over Salernitana and Genoa.
Either way, this will be a tricky test for the visitors despite Bologna’s indifferent run of form. The hosts’ style should suit the Old Lady, though, in that they don’t particularly press high and they seek to play out from the back. Thus, there will be opportunities for the Bianconeri to control the bout through secure possession play and their work without the ball. The return of McKennie could be instrumental in bringing about an improved pressing performance.
I fancy a Dybala-less Juve to snatch all three points on the road this weekend.
Prediction: Bologna 1-2 Juventus