Big, big month. We play Napoli & Barcelona twice. We determine if we reach the Coppa final and the CL semifinal. Then there is 15 points that could wrap up scudetto 35, the sixth in a row. We have 8 matches in 28 days.
Pjaca just got a bad injury Looks like his knee twisted. God please dont let this be a 6-8month recovery
I am so hoping it will be like Marchisio's injury in March 2015. Looked to be quite serious, but turned out to be only out for around 8 days. Well at least Pjaca is not a starting player. If he was it would have been a disaster. Anyway get well soon Pjaca, recover well!!! Hopefully its an injury that only looks serious and that he'll be fine.
I hope Higuain has the month of his life. I can't tell you how much I want to humiliate Napoli in both games. Higuain must score once at least in both Napoli games, hopefully more. I honestly want to smash this team so badly. Especially since Sarri won the coach award. We also need Higuain in form for Barcelona, because we need to put in our best performance of the season. I read that Dybala might start for Argentina. God please let him be fit, and not pick up a serious injury. We need him really healthy and in form this month. I have a question. Do any of you know if we will go back to Turin in between the Napoli games or just stay in Naples? It really makes sense to me to just spend that week in Naples and train there. Any of you guys know?
Pjaca's injury is very unfortunate. He may not be a starter, but Pjaca is the only attacking player that can make a difference off the bench. He would have been very useful in the final 20 minutes of certain matches. Playing Higuaín, Mandzu, Dybala, and Cuadrado every match isn't realistic. Pjaca at the very least serves to give each of them a break. Allegri will have to use Marchisio, Rincon, Sturaro, and Lemina to rest the four attackers at certain points.
Pjaca out with potential ligament damage, will most likely miss the rest of the season. Thanks international football
Pjaca is a huge blow because now we dont have many back ups which means Allegri has to start playing some players out of position when he brings in subs. Moises Kean will def. have to be in the mix too. It sucks that anytime we get a young prospect they get his with long term injuries; pjaca, lemina, mattiello, mandragora And then their growth gets disrupted and at times the team moves on so they get forgotten. I hope this doesnt happen with Pjaca, i was really looking forward to seeing more of him as him, cuadrado and sandro bring something special to our offense.
In the most important matches, the 4-2-3-1/4-4-2 can still be implemented. Like you said this injury leaves Juve very thin in attack because of how many attackers they start with. Luckily Juve are tactically flexible and should be able to utilize a 3rd CM in a 4-3-3 or 4-3-1-2/4-3-2-1 when resting one of the forwards. I'm more concerned with who will come off the bench if Juve are trailing in a big match and need a change. Kean is a prodigy, but he is only 18. In these situations, a CM like Marchisio could come into a match and allow Dybala to play closer to the opponent's box. Alves/Licht/Cuadrado could possibly all start in certain moments. Maybe Allegri uses Sandro as a LW like he did vs Bayern last year while using Asamoah (instead of Evra) as a LB. Juve still have a lot of options to deal with this injury. Dybala, Marchisio, and Chiellini were all out in Munich last year while Mandzu wasn't fit to start either. So it could be a lot worse.
And its official, Pjaca has ligament damage, probably out for the rest of the season. http://gianlucadimarzio.com/it/juve...iore-per-pjaca-il-report-medico-della-croazia
Depending on who we start, moving Alves to wing could probably still make a difference off the bench. Kean is another option as well. We still have some good options.
Poor kid. This is all on the Croatian FA for allowing a meaningless match vs Estonia to occur on an abysmal turf field. There was no point for even playing such a fixture. I doubt that Allegri can play a 4-2-3-1 in most games now.
Allegri will figure it out as he always does. If he wants to start with the 4-2-3-1, he can. He usually would adjust as the game goes on. He is not dependent upon Pjaca.
He also often changes formations within the same game, so maybe start 4-2-3-1 and then when he makes subs switch it. He is extremely good at that.
It's not that the formation is dependent on Pjaca. My question is whether Allegri can play Mandzu, Dybala, Higuaín, and Cuadrado in every match. If that seems doubtful then obviously a slight adjustment has to be made. In big matches, Allegri will have plenty to work with to make any formation function the way he wants. Marchisio, Asamoah, Rincon, Sturaro, Lemina along with Alves/Licht all provide variants if the four attackers need rest. Unlike Pjaca, none really offer the same intent going forward as they aren't attackers. With that said, they all possess attributes that are very useful. Rumors are that Dybala will start from the bench vs Napoli as he isn't quite fit. If that is the case, it will be very interesting to see what Allegri decides.
-------------------Higuain ------Mandzu-------------Cuadrado -----------Khedira-----Marchisio --------------------Pjanic Sandro---Chiellini--Bonucci--Alves/Licht In Dybala's absence, maybe the above works. Pjanic's versatility in between Khedira and Marchisio allows him to roam anywhere in the center whether that is in front of the defense or behind the strikers.
Uh Oh. I now just heard that Mandzukic is injured as well. Doesn't seem to be serious but he might miss the Napoli game.
With these absences, which line up is best? 3-5-2 ---------------Higuaín -----------------------Cuadrado ---------Khedira---Marchisio Sandro-------Pjanic----------Licht/Alves ------Chiellini--Bon---Barzagli 4-3-1-2 / 4-3-2-1 ----------------------Higuaín -----------------------------Cuadrado ------------------Pjanic ------------Khedira-------CM --------------------Marchisio Asamoah---Chiellini---Bon---Licht/Alves 4-5-1 ---------------------Higuaín -------Sandro----------------Cuadrado ------------Khedira-------Marchisio -----------------------Pjanic Asamoah---Chiellini---Bon---Licht/Alves 4-5-1 ---------------------Higuaín -------Cuadrado----------------Alves ------------Khedira-------Marchisio -----------------------Pjanic Asamoah---Chiellini---Bon---Licht