Cremonese have enjoyed an impressive start to life in Serie A under new manager Davide Nicola, but things get tricky this weekend against Juventus. The newly-promoted side have already accumulated 14 points from their opening nine games, which places them right below their next opponents.
Cremonese are on a three-game unbeaten run at the moment, which involves two draws and a win over Genoa, which came last weekend. The big talking point recently was Jamie Vardy’s first Serie A goal, which secured a draw against Atalanta.
However, in the win over Genoa, it was his strike partner Federico Bonazzoli who grabbed a brace to secure three points for the Serie A newcomers. Now, Cremonese host the formidable yet unsettled Juventus, aiming to cause an upset by taking advantage of their rocky form.
Speaking of shaky form, Juventus are not in the best of runs at the moment, and the club have changed managers midway through the season for three years running. The most successful club in the land are once again a victim of their own decision-making, as the board hopes their latest change will bear the fruits of success.
Last season saw Thiago Motta make way for Igor Tudor, and while the Croat got a permanent contract in the summer, he too was dismissed earlier this week. In his place, interim coach Massimo Brambilla secured a much-needed victory in midweek, as Dusan Vlahovic’s goal proved enough against Udinese.
Since then, Juventus have appointed former Italy and Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti at the helm, hoping to arrest the rot in which the Bianconeri went eight games without a win across all competitions. Spalletti has a big task at hand to revive the season on all fronts, and his first task at the Juventus boss would be to stabilise the league campaign with a win over Cremonese.
Cremonese have a few problems to deal with before their manager can name a strong starting lineup. On the injury front, Michele Collocolo is being ruled out of this clash, while there are significant doubts over the participation of Alberto Grassi, Antonio Sanabria, and Faris Moumbagna will face late assessments over their statuses.
First-choice keeper Emil Audero, a graduate from Juventus, returned from injury earlier this week, and he could be pencilled in to start between the sticks for Cremonese against his former side this weekend.
Davide Nicola will continue deploying the system with a back three and midfield quintet, which will feature Martin Payero, Warren Bondo, and Jari Vandeputte holding the central areas together. The frontline will be expected to have Jamie Vardy and Federico Bonazzoli, although Franco Vazquez is also pushing for a recall into the lineup.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Audero; Bianchetti, Baschirotto, Terraciano; Barbieri, Payero, Bondo, Vandeputte, Mussolini; Bonazzoli, Vardy
All eyes will be on Luciano Spalletti and what he does with the Juventus squad, considering the former Napoli coach has developed a reputation for being an attack-minded, fluid coach.
There are doubts over Khephren Thuram following his withdrawal from the squad for the Udinese game, and Weston McKennie will be the ideal choice to take over his place in the midfield. Defensive duo Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal are the absentees in the squad alongside long-term injury victim Arkadiusz Milik.
For now, Spalletti might not take the handbrake off and change the present system, meaning a back three will be in effect for the visit to Cremonese. Similarly, Manuel Locatelli and McKennie will take the midfield spots, while Kenan Yildiz and Lois Openda will occupy the space behind striker Vlahovic.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Gatti, Kelly; Cambiaso, Locatelli, McKennie, Kostic; Yildiz, Openda; Vlahovic
Vlahovic was once again the man to bail Juventus out of their slump as his goal was enough to end an eight-game winless run. The Serbian striker was in some way a saviour during Tudor’s short reign from last season until earlier this week, as he might be the answer for Spalletti to solve a few problems in this squad.
Vlahovic has so far managed to get ahead in the race for being Juventus’s starting no.9 ahead of others. Luciano Spalletti must find a way to get the best out of the Serbian. For now, the Bianconeri supporters will look up to Vlahovic to get the goals in this team, and the trip to Cremonese will be a good chance for the Serb to answer a few critics.
Cremonese boss Davide Nicola will hope to carry forward their recent momentum into a game of big importance, and they are in with a chance to inflict more damage on Juventus. However, the hosts are not expected to get a win or even a draw, given the gulf in the gap in quality between the two teams.
Meanwhile, the presence of Luciano Spalletti in the Juventus dugout will be a source of motivation for the players, who will want to impress the new manager. Hence, the bigger possibility is for a Juventus win, although they are in with the chance to concede at some stage of this game. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Spalletti and his charges.
