Massimiliano Allegri and Juventus coped in the face of an injury crisis at a slumping Empoli on Saturday as a Dusan Vlahovic brace inspired the Bianconeri to a 3-2 victory.
The immediate impact of the Serbian hitman combined with the recent woes of both Milan clubs has allowed Juve to just about sneak into the Scudetto race as distinct outsiders. Allegri’s Old Lady are seven points adrift of new leaders Napoli.
However, their attention has switched towards Italy’s premier cup competition as they take on Fiorentina in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final tie. Allegri will be without nine first-teamers for the trip to what will be a raucous Artemio Franchi as Denis Zakaria was added to Juve’s lengthy injury list.
Juventus’ predicted XI for Coppa Italia semi-final first leg vs Fiorentina
The Bianconeri’s injuries mean that Allegri may be forced to turn to youth for Wednesday’s game with three talents in contention. Here’s the starting XI we think the Juve boss will pick for the first leg in Florence.
Goalkeeper & Defenders
Mattia Perin (GK) – Perin has started both of Juve’s Coppa Italia games up to this point and that trend’s expected to continue as we approach the latter stages of the competition.
Danilo (RB) – The stabilising presence of Danilo will be crucial to settling Juventus in what’s poised to be a hostile environment at the Franchi.
Leonardo Bonucci (CB) – I’m sure Allegri doesn’t want to be consistently using Bonucci but his hands are tied, unfortunately. Daniele Rugani and Giorgio Chiellini remain sidelined for the Bianconeri. Although, the former should be back for Sunday’s Serie A clash with Spezia.
Matthijs de Ligt (CB) – The recently crowned Old Juve February Player of the Month played down a summer departure ahead of Wednesday’s first leg.
Mattia De Sciglio (LB) – De Sciglio was understandably dropped for the Empoli game after his shoddy showing against Villarreal. Nevertheless, I expect Allegr to rotate once more at left-back with the versatile De Sciglio replacing the streaky Luca Pellegrini. The former has performed better off the left this season.
Midfielders
Juan Cuadrado (RM) – Cuadrado produced a stellar performance against Empoli, his best in weeks, and it’d be a surprise to see him drop down to the bench for the trip to Florence. Alongside Danilo, the Colombian makes up a veteran right-hand side.
Arthur Melo (CM) – Arthur was hugely influential in Saturday’s victory and it was a performance he needed after his sloppy display against Sassuolo in the previous round of the Coppa Italia cost him starts in Juve’s next couple of fixtures. The Brazilian was at his efficient best on Saturday.
Manuel Locatelli (CM) – Locatelli replaced Denis Zakaria in the first half at Empoli and will surely partner Arthur in this one. Should this be the case, it’ll be interesting to see how much freedom he’s gifted by the metronomic Brazilian in the double pivot. Their dynamic could resemble Locatelli’s relationship with Maxime Lopez at Sassuolo.
Marley Ake (LM) – Allegri has been reluctant to trust youth this season (shock) but he hinted that one of Ake, Matias Soule or Fabio Miretti could earn a start of Wednesday with the boss’ midfield options limited. The early speculation suggests that the fortunate youngster who’ll earn his first senior start is the spritely Ake, who’s adept off both flanks but primarily operates off the left for the Under-23s.
Forwards
Alvaro Morata (ST) – Morata needed a refresh and he looked bright off the bench at the weekend. The Spaniard teed up Vlahovic for his second and I’m expecting the pair to start together on Wednesday with Moise Kean an option off the bench.
Dusan Vlahovic (ST) – This may well be the toughest test of Vlahovic’s young career up to this point. The resentment held deep within the Viola ultras will undoubtedly be projected in the form of heckling and abuse towards their former marksman on Wednesday’s first leg as the 22-year-old returns to the Franchi for the first time since his January departure. This will be a huge test of Vlahovic’s mettle.