The match point is served. Juventus is preparing for the away match in Udine (15 pm) with the awareness of being able to bring themselves to +10 on Roma, thus effectively closing any discussion of the Scudetto, provided that the same has ever really been opened. All thanks to an extraordinary journey (11 victories in the last 12) but also to the slips of the opponents, too discontinuous to be able to disturb the black and white dictatorship. Winning in Udine would mean mortgaging the sixth consecutive Scudetto and the wonderful opportunity, ironically, was given by that furious Naples after the Italian Cup. However, the 2-1 of the Azzurri is not valid only in a tricolor key: second place is back in the balance, the third, barring sensational jolts, seems more and more in the safe. The Neapolitans hadn't conquered the Giallorossi Olimpico since Cavani's time and this time it's Mertens who takes the covers, author of a brace (26' and 49') which earned 3 very important, not to mention fundamental, points. The Giallorossi (scoring in the 89th minute with Strootman) now find themselves having to manage a heavy defeat, the second after the one in the Cup against Lazio, all just a few days before the match against Lyon.
The victory in Milan was supposed to give impetus for the end of the season, but Roma, once again, ended up shutting down on the climax. “Talking about the Scudetto is very difficult, it will depend only on Juve – commented Spalletti bitterly. – Defeats like this burn, you risk turning moods upside down, but we have to remain calm: there are still many games to go. Napoli were better than us in managing the ball but it's not a matter of tiredness, the finish we played shows that this alibi does not exist". Juventus thus finds the possibility of moving up to +10, on condition, ça va sans dire, that they beat ex Delneri's Udinese. “It's a match that can decide a lot – confirmed Allegri. – A success could give us a big boost, but we have to know that it will be a complicated race. We are coming from a very positive moment and when this is the case we need to keep our antennas even more straight than usual…”. It may be for this reason that the coach, despite the recent commitment against Napoli, will limit the turnover to a minimum, effectively confirming the 4-2-3-1 formation of the last few weeks. In defense, in front of Buffon, space for Dani Alves, Bonucci, Benatia and Alex Sandro, with Pjanic and Khedira in midfield and the Cuadrado-Dybala-Mandzukic trio behind Higuain. Delneri will respond with a 4-5-1 formation that will see Karnezis in goal, Widmer, Danilo, Felipe and Samir in the back, De Paul, Badu, Halfredsson, Fofana and Jankto in the midfield, Zapata in attack.
