Juventus vs Bologna Preview: Team News & Prediction
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Thiago Motta is preparing to face his former side for the first time as Juventus boss but things are looking a little bit dicey for the Old Lady despite the fact that they remain the only unbeaten side in Serie A ahead of the visit of Bologna this weekend.
Kick-off date/time: Saturday 7th December, 2024: UK – 5:00pm / US ET – 12:00pm / US PT – 9:00am
How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / US – Select matches will be televised on CBS Sports so it is worth checking their schedule
How to watch online: UK – OneFootball / US – Paramount+
Juventus Preview: Issues for the Bianconeri
There are growing frustrations in Turin with the style of football implemented by Thiago Motta. He showed with a fifth place finish at Bologna that he can play quite a complex and sophisticated, passing style of football but Juve have struggled for any sort of efficiency and precision in attack which has really undermined their progress as they try to evolve the club.
They most recently shared a 1-1 draw with Lecce down in Apulia last weekend, conceding a second-half stoppage-time equaliser in that game. That means the Bianconeri have now started the Serie A season with six victories and eight draws. They have failed to score more than one goal in the game on ten occasions so far this season.
Bologna Preview: Trying to recover from the summer
The summer saw the departure of Motta to Juve as well as the sale of key players such as Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee to Arsenal and Manchester United respectively with former Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano given a tough task, despite the fact he himself said his style of football is very similar to that of Motta.
The visitors, in comparison to last season, have underwhelmed, especially in the UEFA Champions League, but given the squad at Italiano’s disposal, they will be content with being in the top-half. They most recently hammered Monza by four goals to nil in midweek in the Round of 16 of the Coppa Italia.
Juventus Team News: Injury crisis
As well as issues with the standard of their performances, Motta is having to cope with something of an injury crisis with Bremer the standout name sidelined due to injury at the moment.
Over the international break, Dusan Vlahovic criticised the style of football at his club side and he has been missing with a supposed thigh injury ever since and he remains a doubt for this weekend.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Perin; Danilo, Gatti, Kalulu, Cambiaso; Locatelli, Thuram; Conceicao, Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Weah
Unavailable: Bremer (Injured), Juan Cabal (Injured), Adzic (Injured), Milik (Injured)
Questionable: Savona (Injured), McKennie (Injured), Douglas Luiz (Injured), Gonzalez (Injured), Vlahovic (Injured)
Bologna Team News: Rediscovering the rhythm
As well as those aforementioned departures, Bologna have also been dealing with key injury issues throughout this season but the likes of Lewis Ferguson and Dan Ndoye are now fully fit and available.
They do still have a few concerns to deal with as Switzerland international midfielder Michel Aebischer remains sidelined alongside the likes of Oussama El Azzouzi and Nicolo Cambiaghi.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Holm, Beukema, Jhon Lucumi, Juan Miranda; Freuler, Moro; Ndoye, Odgaard, Karlsson; Castro
Unavailable: Aebischer (Injured), El Azzouzi (Injured), Cambiaghi (Injured)
Questionable: De Silvestri (Injured)
Juventus vs Bologna Prediction
It is actually quite remarkable that Juventus remain unbeaten in Serie A. Performances were encouraging at the start of the season but they, unusually with a new manager at the helm implementing his ideas, are getting worse as the campaign goes on. They are due a loss and that aforementioned 4-0 defeat of Monza means that Bologna have now won five of their last six matches domestically and it would be a good value bet to side with the visitors for this one at the J Stadium.
Juventus vs Bologna Tip: Double chance – Bologna to win or draw
