As they take the field Sunday afternoon, Juventus will be 90 or so minutes away from their first international break of 2024. It has been quite the interesting 3 1⁄2 months of the new year — first for very good and encouraging reasons, but for the seven or eight weeks for the exact opposite of that. Considering the form that they are on, it’s probably a much-needed international break that is on the immediate horizon.
That may be just a guess, but it’s also a pretty safe assumption.
But as much as I’m sure a lot of Juve supporters want that break to already be taking place because, well, everything is not very good at the moment, there’s still those 90-plus minutes to play first. Which, knowing the current state of things, who knows if that can really be considered a good thing.
Either way, for the second time in a month, Juventus will be one half of the Serie A lunchtime kickoff. It just so happens that first one, late last month, was the only win that Max Allegri’s squad has recorded in the last seven games, a 3-2 victory over Frosinone which was far from what you would consider “vintage” or “reassuring” based on how they played both before and after. This Sunday’s opponent, 12th-place Genoa, just so happens to be one of the few teams to take points off Juventus when they were in much better form, and very much have things of importance in their own right as they try to lock up a spot in Serie A next season and try to put an end to a run of one win the last six games.
That’s right, people. We have a team that has won one game in their last seven outings hosting a team that has won just once in their last six games.
Over the last six games, Juventus and Genoa have combined to earn ... 10 points. That is less than Serie A heavyweights who go by the name of Monza have earned all on their own over that same six-game span. That’s also less than the two teams in front of Juventus in the Serie A standings, Inter Milan and AC Milan, as well as two of the teams chasing them for a Champions League spot, Bologna and Roma, have earned, too.
Things aren’t good and until they prove otherwise it’s going to be hard to see them fully getting out of this rut as the final two months of the season approaches.
Juve coaches and players alike have recognized the delicate nature of this moment, electing to go into a mini ritiro of sorts on Friday, a day earlier than usual for home games. The only way to know if that move actually pays off will be by how they play. And considering just how poor the results have been of late, one might simply be hoping that the final whistle sounds and three points are secured more than anything.
Of Juve’s last 10 remaining games this season, Genoa are the second-lowest ranked team on the schedule. Things were never going to be simple for Allegri’s squad, so now that you add in the kind of form that you see from relegation battlers rather than a team that still finds itself in the top four, it is a total mystery as to what this team will be able to do down the final stretch.
But, like I said, it’s not like Genoa are in much better form over the last six games. So maybe Juventus are catching Alberto Gilardino’s side at the right time. You could also say that Genoa are certainly catching Juve at the right time — which, considering how valuable points are at this juncture of the season, is not the greatest development. With Bologna winning on Friday night, the gap between third place and fourth is down to all of four points. Roma, under Daniele De Rossi, suddenly look like a team that is going to be tough to slow down as they face 19th-place Sassuolo on Sunday.
This mess is obviously Juventus’ making, and it’s now their No. 1 task to try and get out of it. That’s caused the scope of this season to drastically change over a couple of weeks and now months, but things will have to get back on track soon if Juve want to enjoy the May flowers that those April showers will bring.
TEAM NEWS
- Adrien Rabiot is the biggest name of those who are back in the squad after their respective injury absence both short and much, much longer. Although Allegri admitted that Rabiot “doesn’t have 90 minutes in the tank just yet,” the Frenchman is expected to be in the starting lineup on Sunday afternoon.
- MATTIA DE SCIGLIO BACK!
- That’s right, folks — the Italian fullback who hasn’t been called up all season is back in the matchday squad as he is just one more step away from completing his comeback from major knee surgery. De Sciglio last appeared in a game on May 5, 2023, against Lecce before being forced out after 31 minutes after he tore his ACL in his right knee.
- Another guy named Mattia, backup goalkeeper Mattia Perin, is also back in the squad after returning to full training earlier in the week. Perin missed the last five games with a knee injury he picked up in training.
- The only Juventus player who will miss Genoa’s trip to Turin is Carlos Alcaraz.
- Or so we thought. Allegri announced at his pre-match press conference that Arek Milik will miss Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury. Milik will be re-evaluated after the international break.
- The other two players who will not face Genoa are suspended: Nicolo Fagioli and Paul Pogba.
- Dusan Vlahovic is back in the squad after serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation last weekend against Atalanta. Vlahovic, who has a team-best 15 goals this season, is expected to start alongside Federico Chiesa up front on Sunday.
- Despite the recent struggles, Allegri said the team has “had a good week” in training and that the team going into ritiro is a sign that they understand what needs to be done to try and right the ship.
JUVENTUS PLAYER TO WATCH
Juventus’ midfield has been a little less French the last couple of weeks.
So while the midfield has very much been a talking point for obvious reasons the last couple of weeks (and months) (and seasons) (and managerial stints), getting a player back that Juve has certainly missed is not nothing. Therefore, parlons les amis.
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As much as Fabio Miretti has filled in admirably for Rabiot, it’s pretty clear that Juventus’ midfield has missed their vice captain. And simply Juventus as a whole. Miretti may be talented, but Rabiot he is not, and the up-and-down nature of his play is still very much present.
One can say that Rabiot is very much still an enigma after so much time in Turin and even as he approaches what could be another final few months in bianconero, but he is still very important to this Juventus side. There is no denying that even with the very obvious caveat that this Juve midfield is far from where things were five or six years ago before his arrival from Paris Saint-Germain.
But considering just how important these final 10 league games are, Juventus really do need Rabiot to 1) stay healthy and 2) be a productive player again like he has been at times this season. Easier said than done, of course, but this is the part of the season where Allegri needs his best players to play like just that. And as much as Contract Year Rabiot 2.0 might not be as consistently great as compared to version 1.0, that doesn’t mean he’s any less important.
So now, as he’s getting back into the lineup after dislocating a toe — which, honestly, still sounds painful as hell and it seems like it’s amazing he’s back in a couple of weeks — the hope is that Rabiot brings some stability to a team that is in desperate need of just that.
MATCH INFO
When: Sunday, March 17, 2024.
Where: Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy.
Official kickoff time: 12:30 p.m. in Italy and the Central European time zone, 11:30 a.m. in the United Kingdom, 7:30 a.m. Eastern time, 4:30 a.m. Pacific time. (Please note that Daylight Saving Time has not gone into effect in Europe, therefore normal time differences have not yet been adjusted.)
HOW TO WATCH
Television: CBS Sports Network (United States); TNT Sports 1 (United Kingdom); Sky Sport Uno, Sky Sport Calcio, Sky Sport 251 (Italy).
Online/Streaming: Paramount+ (United States); fuboTV Canada (Canada); discovery+, discovery+ app (United Kingdom); DAZN Italy, Sky Go Italia (Italy).
Other live viewing options can be found here, and as always, you can also follow along with us live and all the stupid things we say on Twitter. If you haven’t already, join the community on Black & White & Read All Over, and join in the discussion below.