Max Allegri is raising eyebrows again with his Juventus selection in the Derby della Mole, as while he finally accepts Weston McKennie’s advice to use him in central midfield, Fabio Miretti is preferred to Timothy Weah in an attacking role.
You can follow all the action as it happens from Juventus vs. Torino on the LIVEBLOG.
The Bianconeri were forced into changes because Federico Chiesa, Dusan Vlahovic, Alex Sandro and Mattia De Sciglio are out injured, with Arkadiusz Milik only fit for a spot on the bench.
Paul Pogba continues his ban after failing a doping test for elevated levels of testosterone.
With Moise Kean the only real striker available, it had been suggested Allegri would give 18-year-old Next Gen sensation Kenan Yildiz his first start.
However, instead the coach opted to push midfielder Miretti into the role of support striker.
It is quite an interesting choice considering Miretti has never scored a single goal for Juventus at senior level.
After weeks of complaining, including an open appeal from the USMNT man’s father, McKennie has finally been taken off his duties as a right wing-back and placed in central midfield.
His place is taken by fellow American international Weah, but this too is a tactical stretch from Allegri.
The 23-year-old was signed from LOSC over the summer, where he scored eight goals and provided eight assists in 107 competitive games.
Some of those were as a centre-forward, support striker or part of a trident attack, yet at Juventus he has only ever been used on the wing.
Miretti had scored his first goal for Italy U21 during the September break and Allegri said on Friday that both he and Nicolò Fagioli would provide the goals Juventus need going forward this season.