Massimiliano Allegri is planning ahead for Juventus’ Europa League clash with SC Freiburg and is facing a number of doubts ahead of the match.
The Bianconeri are still licking their wounds after their frustrating 1-0 loss to Roma on Sunday, but need to switch focus to their upcoming Europa League Round of 16 match with Freiburg, a fiery side dreaming of an upset in Turin.
Juventus disappointed in Europe in the first half of the season, finishing third in their Champions League group, but did show some positive signs in their knockout play-off win over FC Nantes.
As highlighted by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Allegri is taking stock of his Juventus squad ahead of the clash with Freiburg, raising a few questions about who could take part.
Medical tests have confirmed that Alex Sandro did not suffer a muscle injury in the loss to Roma, some positive news for Allegri. Mattia De Sciglio sat out of the defeat in Rome due to muscle fatigue and is still in doubt for the European outing.
Should Alex Sandro be ruled out of the match, Leonardo Bonucci would returning to the starting lineup, forcing Allegri to tinker with the Juventus defence a little. Gleison Bremer would move to the centre right and Danilo to the left in a four-man defence, allowing either De Sciglio or Juan Cuadrado to be used on the right.
The other key issue is in the midfield; Paul Pogba could start against Freiburg but Allegri is hesitant of overworking the Frenchman, so Nicolo Fagioli could join Manuel Locatelli and Adrien Rabiot in the three-man unit.
Finally, Federico Chiesa could return to the starting lineup in place of Filip Kostic on the left side of the attack, where he’d find Dusan Vlahovic and Angel Di Maria.
And still no mention of too-slow-to-get-down Szczesny being replaced by Perin who is currently the better keeper. #AllegriOut.