In pursuit of theAtalantaGasperini's team, fresh from the top of the league, begins the defence of first place on the pitch of Cagliari (15pm), on a high-interest Saturday: immediately after, in fact, it will be the turn of the Napoli, engaged in the treacherous transfer of Udine and Juventus, expected from the home match against Venice. The 16th day, which began yesterday with Torino's victory at Empoli (0-1, amazing goal from Adams from midfield!), will immediately put very important points up for grabs, while waiting for tomorrow's races (Bologna - Fiorentina, How – Rome e Milan - Genoa) and, above all, of the Monday's big match between Lazio and Inter.
Juventus – Venice (20.45pm, Dazn and Sky)
One of the main themes of the weekend concerns the Juventus, fresh from a great victory in the Champions League against Manchester City. Until Wednesday, there was talk of a team in crisis, having run into a chronic form of draws and always struggling with an injury emergency, but after the European success the climate has obviously improved. home match with Venezia offers a great opportunity to find a smile again in the championship, thus interrupting a fast that has lasted since the derby with Torino: since then three draws with Milan, Lecce and Bologna, experienced negatively both for the game and for the standings. The top has moved away by 7 points, many but not too many to raise the white flag, also in light of a declining calendar, at least in the short term. After Venezia, in fact, the Lady will visit Monza, before playing it all at home with Fiorentina: needless to say that two victories are needed, otherwise the direct clash against the Viola would lose a lot of meaning. Difficult, at least on paper, to find pitfalls in today's challenge, but it is clear that it will be very different from Wednesday's, based on (excellent) defense and counterattacks.
Thiago Motta: “I expect the same approach seen with Manchester City”
“Wednesday was a good match with a deserved victory, but it's part of the past,” he said. Thiago Motta -. Now let's think about Venezia, our approach will have to be the same. We always have respect for our opponents and the idea of entering the field and giving our best with humility and seriousness. We have to play a great match, the players know what is needed: we have to start with maximum intensity and bring the result on our side. The injured? There will be no Bremer, Cabal, Milik and Rouhi who has a non-serious muscle injury, Cambiaso he hasn't recovered yet. Nico Gonzalez is back in the group, he is very happy because he worked so hard to make himself available, I hope to be able to give him a few minutes. Vlahovic and Koopmeiners? Dusan did very well on Wednesday, especially in the second half, I'm happy for him, for the performance and for the goal. Koop is fundamental for us, I like to see his body language which is fantastic, his mental approach. He is a great player, it is difficult to take someone like him off the pitch for many reasons".
Juventus – Venezia, probable formations
Juventus (4-2-3-1): Di Gregorio; Savona, Kalulu, Gatti, Danilo; Locatelli, McKennie; Weah, Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Vlahovic
On the bench: Perin, Pinsoglio, Fagioli, Thuram, Douglas Luiz, Nico Gonzalez, Mbangula, Adzic, Conceiçao
Coach: Thiago Motta (suspended, Hugeux on the bench)
Unavailable: Milik, Bremer, Cabal, Cambiaso, Rouhi
Disqualified: none
Venice (3-4-2-1): Stankovic; Idzes, Svoboda, Altar; Zampano, Andersen, Nicolussi Caviglia, Ellertsson; Busio, Oristanio; Pohjanpalo
On the bench: Joronen, Grandi, Sverko, Schingtienne, Carboni, Bjarkason, Candela, Haps, Doumbia, Crngoj, Gytkjaer, El Haddad, Yeboah
Coach: Di Francesco
Unavailable: Duncan, Sagrado, Raimondo
Disqualified: none
Udinese – Napoli (18pm, Dazn)
Halfway between Atalanta and Juventus there will be the Napoli, called to redeem himself after the defeat with Lazio, which has already cost him dearly in terms of the standings. The possible assault on first place will depend on the result of the Goddess, but Conte needs to conquer Udine regardless: the competition is strong and another misstep could have worrying consequences. Talking about Napoli being stuck, perhaps, would be a bit too much, but certainly something has changed for the worse compared to the autumn, when the Azzurri won (and were convincing) without too many problems. The malicious will say that a lot of it depended on the calendar, given that the slowdown coincided with the arrival of the big matches (only one victory, moreover against a Roma in full crisis, compared to the draw with Inter and the defeats with Atalanta and Lazio), certainly it is the result of a rather sterile attack, very far from the expectations of the beginning of the season. Since November, Lukaku has scored only one goal, while Kvaratskhelia, who was also injured (he will return between the end of December and the beginning of January), has been out since the one scored against Milan on 29 October. Winning the Scudetto without the goals of the strikers is impossible; therefore, it will be up to Conte to find a way to revitalise them: many believe that his game, however effective, does not fully enhance them, being based more on defensive solidity.
Conte: “We respect Udinese, but the falls must strengthen us”
“We must continue to grow, the falls must help us to reinforce this mentality – the thought of Tale -. In Udine we will see what our response will be, if we have taken a step forward, stayed the same or taken a step back. The approach will be important, as well as maintaining the intensity throughout the match with attention, intensity and desire: the game is not decided in the first 15 or the last minutes, but in the 95 in which we will have to be good. Udinese started very strong, then had a slowdown, but won the last match again. They are very physically structured, they have been making these choices for years, they go for very physical, fast, resistant players, they are a very good team. The coach is in his first year but he is doing well, respect will be needed and we will have to be in the best of our condition. Neres in place of Kvaratskhelia? I have not yet decided who should take the field, you will see the choices and the type of contribution that each one will give”.
Udinese – Napoli, probable formations
Udinese (3-5-2): Sava; Kristensen, Bijol, Giannetti; Ehizibue, Lovric, Karlstrom, Ekkelenkamp, Zemura; Thauvin, Lucca
On the bench: Padelli, Piana, Abankwah, Touré, Ebosse, Kabasele, Kamara, Rui Modesto, Atta, Pizarro, Brenner, Iker Bravo, Sanchez
Coach: Runjaic
Unavailable: Payero, Okoye, Davis, Zarraga
Disqualified: none
Napoli (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka, McTominay; Politano, Lukaku, Neres
On the bench: Caprile, Contini, Juan Jesus, Marin, Spinazzola, Zerbin, Gilmour, Folorunsho, Simeone, Ngonge, Raspadori
Coach: Conte
Unavailable: Mazzocchi, Kvaratskhelia
Disqualified: none
