[Serie A] Juventus - Udinese (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Chxta
- Start date
Serie A Preview: Juventus-Udinese
2/12/2005 2:02:00 PM
With the season now entering its most crucial phase, Juventus will be under immense pressure against highflying Udinese. The “Old Lady” find themselves just two points clear of Milan and cannot afford yet another unconvincing display.
BACKGROUND
Last week’s defeat at the hands of Palermo has confirmed that the Bianconeri are in a crisis. Having fallen to a home defeat against Walter Novellino’s Sampdoria just a week before, Juventus now find their lead at the top cut down to just 2 points. It is clear that Capello’s men have struggled since their encounter with Milan in December and could have found themselves much worse off if not for Milan’s own recent slip-ups. Capello will be fully aware of the attacking talent his side will be facing, with players such as Jankulovski and Pizarro on his wish list for some time now.
It is difficult to point out exactly what is going wrong for Juventus at the moment, but it is obvious that their attacking fluidity has been missing for some time now. Whilst Juve’s attack has not always been prolific this season, their impressive defence has often allowed them to pick up victories with relatively few goals needed. It has been reported that the Juventus players were spoken to by Luciano Moggi, Antonio Giraudo and Roberto Bettega in an effort to stop their alarming slump in form. Allegedly, the trio spent 40 minutes with the squad on Thursday as they asked for an explanation from the players. The “Old Lady” have shown great determination and hunger under Capello and it is surely a matter of time before they emerge form their poor run, however, Juventus will need to rediscover their killer touch quickly as an Impressive Milan side snap at their heels.
Udinese are the biggest surprise of the first half of this Serie A campaign, currently flying high in third place. Udinese tactician Spalletti has taken an excellent group of players and made them play effective and attractive football. In recent seasons the Bianconeri could never finish the season as well as they should have. They have a very capable squad, especially in the midfield, with the likes of Chilean David Pizarro and Marek Jankulovski from the Czech Republic. Serie A’s other Bianconeri side have shown great resilience to bounce back from a run of poor results. Despite the small blip, the Friuli outfit managed to regain third place from the chasing pack and now seem on course to go on another impressive run. Spalletti’s men have the quality and class to finish the season as they have started it.
FORM GUIDE
Juventus: DDWWLL
Juventus’ form has looked shaky of late and will be a worry for fans. However Capello will surely have his men prepared to arrest this slump in form and return to their glorious early season form.
Udinese: LLLWW
Udinese have been performing well of late and returned to winning ways. This encounter could change all that as Juve try to start winning again, and Udinese attempt to carry on.
TEAM NEWS
Juventus
Capello will be without Kapo and Nedved for this clash. Both wingers are out of action through injury and will most probably be missing for another coule of weeks.
Udinese
Cribari is injured, but apart from that, Spalletti has a full squad to choose from.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Juventus
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was desperately unlucky not to score in the last two games and will be a massive threat to Udinese’s defence. The giant Swede has not scored for a while and is due a goal. Zlatan has looked like Juve’s most dangerous player during their slump and has suffered from a lack of decent service in the box. If the midfield play improves, Zlatan will be deadly once again.
Udinese
Iaquinta was heavily liked with a move to Barcelona recently and it is easy to see why the Catalan giants want his services. Strong in the air, and impressive technically, Iaquinta is developing into one of Serie A’s top marksmen. The striker will be a massive threat to Juve’s defence.
PROBABLE STARTING XIs
Juventus (4-4-2):
Buffon - Zebina, Thuram, Cannavaro, Pessotto - Camoranesi, Emerson, Blasi - Zambrotta, Trezeguet, Ibrahimovic
Udinese (3-4-3):
De Sanctis - Bertotto, Sensini, Koldrup, Pinzi, Pazienza - Pizarro, Muntari, Jankulovski, Iaquinta – Di Natale,.
PREDICTION
Juventus could struggle against Udinese but should just pip them to all three points.
Juventus 2-1 Udinese
2/12/2005 2:02:00 PM
With the season now entering its most crucial phase, Juventus will be under immense pressure against highflying Udinese. The “Old Lady” find themselves just two points clear of Milan and cannot afford yet another unconvincing display.
BACKGROUND
Last week’s defeat at the hands of Palermo has confirmed that the Bianconeri are in a crisis. Having fallen to a home defeat against Walter Novellino’s Sampdoria just a week before, Juventus now find their lead at the top cut down to just 2 points. It is clear that Capello’s men have struggled since their encounter with Milan in December and could have found themselves much worse off if not for Milan’s own recent slip-ups. Capello will be fully aware of the attacking talent his side will be facing, with players such as Jankulovski and Pizarro on his wish list for some time now.
It is difficult to point out exactly what is going wrong for Juventus at the moment, but it is obvious that their attacking fluidity has been missing for some time now. Whilst Juve’s attack has not always been prolific this season, their impressive defence has often allowed them to pick up victories with relatively few goals needed. It has been reported that the Juventus players were spoken to by Luciano Moggi, Antonio Giraudo and Roberto Bettega in an effort to stop their alarming slump in form. Allegedly, the trio spent 40 minutes with the squad on Thursday as they asked for an explanation from the players. The “Old Lady” have shown great determination and hunger under Capello and it is surely a matter of time before they emerge form their poor run, however, Juventus will need to rediscover their killer touch quickly as an Impressive Milan side snap at their heels.
Udinese are the biggest surprise of the first half of this Serie A campaign, currently flying high in third place. Udinese tactician Spalletti has taken an excellent group of players and made them play effective and attractive football. In recent seasons the Bianconeri could never finish the season as well as they should have. They have a very capable squad, especially in the midfield, with the likes of Chilean David Pizarro and Marek Jankulovski from the Czech Republic. Serie A’s other Bianconeri side have shown great resilience to bounce back from a run of poor results. Despite the small blip, the Friuli outfit managed to regain third place from the chasing pack and now seem on course to go on another impressive run. Spalletti’s men have the quality and class to finish the season as they have started it.
FORM GUIDE
Juventus: DDWWLL
Juventus’ form has looked shaky of late and will be a worry for fans. However Capello will surely have his men prepared to arrest this slump in form and return to their glorious early season form.
Udinese: LLLWW
Udinese have been performing well of late and returned to winning ways. This encounter could change all that as Juve try to start winning again, and Udinese attempt to carry on.
TEAM NEWS
Juventus
Capello will be without Kapo and Nedved for this clash. Both wingers are out of action through injury and will most probably be missing for another coule of weeks.
Udinese
Cribari is injured, but apart from that, Spalletti has a full squad to choose from.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Juventus
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was desperately unlucky not to score in the last two games and will be a massive threat to Udinese’s defence. The giant Swede has not scored for a while and is due a goal. Zlatan has looked like Juve’s most dangerous player during their slump and has suffered from a lack of decent service in the box. If the midfield play improves, Zlatan will be deadly once again.
Udinese
Iaquinta was heavily liked with a move to Barcelona recently and it is easy to see why the Catalan giants want his services. Strong in the air, and impressive technically, Iaquinta is developing into one of Serie A’s top marksmen. The striker will be a massive threat to Juve’s defence.
PROBABLE STARTING XIs
Juventus (4-4-2):
Buffon - Zebina, Thuram, Cannavaro, Pessotto - Camoranesi, Emerson, Blasi - Zambrotta, Trezeguet, Ibrahimovic
Udinese (3-4-3):
De Sanctis - Bertotto, Sensini, Koldrup, Pinzi, Pazienza - Pizarro, Muntari, Jankulovski, Iaquinta – Di Natale,.
PREDICTION
Juventus could struggle against Udinese but should just pip them to all three points.
Juventus 2-1 Udinese