How Juventus Will Line Up Against Fiorentina

Juventus travel to Florence this weekend to start a massive few days for the Bianconeri.

A rivalry with the Viola will be resumed before the Old Lady look to put some life into their Champions League campaign with Real Madrid a few days later.

With Napoli and Roma starting the season superbly, alongside poor results against Copenhagen and Galatasaray, Antonio Conte will have to go all-out at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday.

Gianluigi Buffon's form has been patchy of late and it is not just his club form that has been discussed recently.

During the international break, the Italian press ran plenty of stories contemplating whether Federico Marchetti or Salvatore Sirigu could legitimately grab a starting place this late in the day as the World Cup approaches.

The 20-year-old goalkeeping sensation Nicola Leali—currently on loan at Serie B outfit Spezia—was also mentioned and could compete with Buffon as early as next season for a starting role.

Marco Storari's future is unclear with an agreement yet to be reached on a renewal to his current deal, and it appears unlikely that Conte would consider dropping Italy's No. 1 just yet.

The back three is almost assured with Angelo Ogbonna yet to provide a serious threat to any of Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini or Andrea Barzagli.

Stephan Lichtsteiner missed the last match against Milan, as well as both international matches for Switzerland against Albania and Slovenia, with a thigh injury, and it appears as if his absence will be prolonged.

Mauricio Isla has been dreadful when afforded an opportunity to stake a claim for a regular place in the side, pushing Conte to select the less-dynamic Simone Padoin, who performed adequately enough against the Rossoneri in the Swiss right-midfielder's absence to keep his place this weekend.

Most fascinating is the selection dilemma for the three centre-midfield places, as Paul Pogba has proven in Claudio Marchisio's absence that he is ready to claim a starring role.

Now that Il Principino is fit again though and Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo remain some of Conte's most trusted troops, there is a doubt as to who will feature in Juve's midfield for the big matches.

Conte's decision has been made easier for the Serie A clash against Fiorentina though, as El Guerrero returned late from his international duty with Chile, angering the Mister and prompting him to consider dropping the 26-year-old.

We can expect Vidal to miss out this weekend, but moving forward, there is still a mystery as to who will be the one to miss out on a more regular basis.

Kwadwo Asamoah endured a lengthy journey during the international break, playing for the Black Stars in Ghana against Egypt, but it is expected that he will be fresh enough to feature from the start.

The strike force will be led by Carlos Tevez, of course, but even with injuries to Mirko Vucinic and Fabio Quagliarella, Conte has another selection problem.

Sebastian Giovinco scored a stunning goal to seal the victory against the Diavolo in the last round, but Formica Atomica will face a battle with Fernando Llorente to start next to El Apache.

Given that the Viola's defence is more physical than agile, the former Parma star could be more effective against the likes of Gonzalo Rodriguez and Stefan Savic.

Expected XI: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Padoin, Marchisio, Pirlo, Pogba, Asamoah; Tevez, Giovinco.