Juventus are set to face Bologna in the Saturday six pm time slot. This will be the first time Motta has faced is former side and he needs a confidence boost for the squad as Juventus are coming off three separate draws.
A 1-1 against Lecce after conceding a last-minute equaliser, a nil-nil to Aston Villa after a late Villa goal was ruled out and a nil-nil against Milan in a snooze fest is not what result Juventus need if they want to challenge for the title.
However, in these games Juventus has been severely undermanned due to injury however, three players are set to return. Adzic, Nico Savona and Dusan Vlahovic are all set to return from injury to boost the squad depth.
The only one of the three expected to start is Dusan Vlahovic according to the predicted elevens. Savona may only be available for around 30-45 minutes of the game and Adzic isn’t a normal starter.
The back four will likely stay the same while Perin gets the nod in goals once again. The back four of Cambiaso, Kalulu, Gatti and Danilo will be in the defence. Danilo may be taken off for Savona in the second half. The other option is Gatti or Kalulu with Danilo moving into a centre back role.
Locatelli is set to remain in his role in front of the centre backs but Khephren Thuram could be given a rest. Nicolo Fagioli is set to come into his role to take over, this comes in the midst of rumours surrounding his sale.
In the attacking midfield three Conceicao and Koopmeiners will likely stay in their place. However, Tim Weah could be moved down from striker to the left flank. This would see Yildiz starting on the bench for the first time from the draw against Parma.
Dusan Vlahovic will resume his starting role up top. He has fully recovered from the injury he picked up while playing for Serabia. Thiago Motta will now have five first team players on the bench excluding goalkeepers. This means he won’t have to rely on next gen players.
The outfield players on the bench will be Rouhi, Savona, Thuram, Yildiz and Mbangula. This will likely mean the changes will be one of the two centre backs and Danilo. Either Nicolo Fagioli or Manuel Locatelli likely Locatelli. Mbangula and Yildiz will likely be bought on for Koopmeiners, Weah or Conceicao.
Starting 11
Perin
Cambiaso Gatti Kalulu Danilo
Fagioli Locatelli
Conceicao Koopmeiners Weah
Vlahovic
