Juventus vs. Atalanta: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Following their Champions League encounter with Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, Juventus return to domestic action against Atalanta this weekend hoping to continue their current unbeaten run.
The Bianconeri have undoubtedly improved following their poor start to the season, looking markedly better in last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Inter. Yet they still sit in 14th place, and their next opponents are surprisingly six points and five positions better off than the reigning champions.
Striker Mauricio Pinilla—who has netted three goals in six appearances this term—has no doubts that the Bergamo-based club can maintain their current form, as he discussed with La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia):
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"Before the season started I said Atalanta could finish in the top 10 and I confirm it today. We are playing well, we deserve the points we’ve got so far and in fact could’ve had more. Last term, the team was scared and struggled to express itself. Today things have changed all over and people enjoy watching us play football.
"
His coach Edy Reja echoed those comments, telling RAI Sport (h/t Football Italia) that his team would “try to make life difficult” for Juventus. To do so would reverse recent history, however, with the Bianconeri having won their last six meetings with Atalanta and outscoring them by 14 goals to two in that period.
May 2009 marks the last time they dropped points to the Orobici in Turin, and coach Massimilano Allegri will certainly be hoping to seal three points here as his side look to climb the table as quickly as possible.
“Slowly but surely we’ll force our way back into the title picture,” he told a recent press conference, adding that they would only do so “by remaining calm and building up some consistency in our results.”
Date: Sunday, October 25, 2015
Time: 2 p.m. GMT (10 a.m. ET)
Venue: Juventus Stadium, Turin
TV Info: beINSPORTS (USA)
Live Stream: beINSPORTS Connect (USA)
Form Lines:
Last 5 domestic results:
Probable Formations
Juventus (4-3-3): Gigi Buffon; Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Alex Sandro, Stefano Sturaro, Hernanes, Paul Pogba, Juan Cuadrado; Mario Mandzukic, Paulo Dybala
Unavailable: Martin Caceres, Stephan Lichtsteiner (both injured)
Atalanta (4-3-3): Marco Sportiello; Andrea Masiello, Rafael Toloi, Gabriel Paletta, Boukary Drame; Alberto Grassi, Marten de Roon, Luca Cigarini; Maxi Moralez, Mauricio Pinilla, Alejandro Gomez
Unavailable: Marcelo Estigarribia (injured)
Player to Watch
As Juventus look to build on their recent good form, they undoubtedly need Paul Pogba to deliver much better performances than he has thus far in 2015/16. Netting two goals against Genoa back in September, the French midfielder has otherwise made little impact in a campaign that is his to dominate.
Having seen Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal move on, Pogba took the coveted No. 10 shirt and appears to have been somewhat overawed by it. Massimiliano Allegri noted his displays at a recent press conference (h/t Football Italia) and particularly the 22-year-old’s effort against Inter last weekend:
"Pogba didn’t play very well in the first half on Sunday. After the break he did decidedly better, but it’s not a problem anyway. This is a period in which he has to find himself and start doing the simple things again, the ones he knows how to do so well.
I tell him this all the time. He is an important player for Juventus, a player who has to give us a great deal and I expect a lot from him too.
"
Key Battle
Perhaps the battle that will decide this match up will be between Marco Sportiello and the Juventus attack. The Atalanta goalkeeper has three clean sheets to his name this term, a tally bettered by only the five of Samir Handanovic of Inter and Fiorentina’s Ciprian Tatarusanu.
Furthermore, he has been among the division’s busiest stoppers with statistics courtesy of Fox Soccer showing 32 saves, a total that again ranks third highest in Serie A, behind the 37 made by both Emiliano Viviano (Sampdoria) and Nicola Leali (Frosinone).
Lining up opposite him will be a group of attacking players who have yet to hit their stride in 2015/16, the Bianconeri having netted just nine times in their opening eight league games of the campaign.
Boasting the likes of Mario Mandzukic, Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala, the Turin giants will hope that this encounter sees them finally jell and that their forwards begin to find some chemistry.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Away win: 17-2
Home win: 100-333
Draw: 17-4
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