Winning to silence criticism. It seems incredible but also Juventus, Italy's five-time champion and first with 4 points over the second, is experiencing a period full of tensions and controversies. And so the away match at Chievo (15 pm) becomes rather delicate and not only for reasons of standings: that, indeed, is relatively worrying, if anything the problems come from the game. Many think that this is the cause of the black and white efforts, and if in Italy the results have swept the dust under the carpet, the same cannot be said of Europe, where the team continues to struggle despite a top-level staff. The draw with Lyon was then joined by the controversy between the club and Gazzetta dello Sport, guilty of having revealed an outburst by Buffon against his teammates ("in Italy we win because they get out of the way, in the Champions League it's not like that") which still does noise, despite being promptly denied.
“In my life I have never found opponents who have dodged – replied Allegri. – I only want to think about Chievo, they are the worst team that could happen to us at the moment. He comes from the defeat of Crotone and will have great motivation in the presence of the leaders, moreover he is very organized and has an excellent coach like Maran. In the last month we've played a lot of games, some of which are very tough. We need one last effort to close this cycle in the best possible way, we have to win in any way”. The technician's pragmatism is understandable, but many turn up their noses at the spasmodic search for results without too many frills, as if nothing more could be done despite the evident technical supremacy. However, some objective extenuating circumstances must be recognized for Allegri: between injuries (Chiellini, Dybala and Pjaca) and players not at their best (Bonucci, Marchisio, Asamoah) the much-vaunted alternatives are reduced to the bone. And so they end up playing almost always the same ones, moreover without a physical condition adequate to their expectations.
At the Bentegodi we will see the ordinance 3-5-2 with Buffon in goal, Rugani, Barzagli and Benatia in defence, Lichtsteiner, Khedira, Hernanes, Lemina and Alex Sandro in midfield, Higuain and Mandzukic in attack. Maran, without victories for over a month (the last one was on 1 October in Pescara, since then two draws and two defeats), will attempt the feat with the usual 4-3-1-2 with Sorrentino in goal , Cacciatore, Dainelli, Gamberini and Gobbi in the back, Castro, Radovanovic and Hetemaj in the midfield, Birsa in the trocar behind the offensive couple Floro Flores-Inglese.
