Preview :
Football Italia
Both Perugia and Juventus will be desperate for the points this weekend – but for totally different reasons. The Grifoni could be relegated on Sunday while the Bianconeri will be keen to prove a point after the 4-3 home loss to Lecce.
The Umbrian outfit seem doomed even if they showed that they are still ready to fight after their 1-1 draw at Brescia last week. Boss Serse Cosmi will also need to shuffle his pack with both Diamoutene and Di Loreto suspended for Week 32.
Juventus are still in with a chance of finishing second ahead of Roma but it seems likely that they will have to be content with a third place finish. However, the club were not too impressed with the performance of their players last week as they ordered the squad into a pre-match training camp.
It was an unusual step for the club but one which underlined that not everything is as it should be in Turin. The defeat also seemed to confirm that boss Marcello Lippi would not remain in his job, especially after his team selection.
He played with a 4-2-3-1 formation which included David Trezeguet, Marco Di Vaio, Fabrizio Miccoli and Pavel Nedved. It left their disastrous defence exposed as the Bianconeri were heavily punished.
Lippi is set to revert to a more traditional 4-4-2 formation with Alex Del Piero returning to the first team after his substitute appearance at the Delle Alpi. The centre back partnership of Mark Iuliano and Nicola Legrottaglie also face the chop after a shocking display. Alessandro Birindelli is suspended. Tacchinardi, Camoranesi and Conte are injury doubts.
Preview :
SoccerAge
Perugia host Juventus at the 'Renato Curi' for the 32nd Serie A matchday, in a match between two disappointed teams looking to finish their season with some positive results.
The bianconeri have passed half of this week in a training camp as a punishment for their poor results, topped by last week's defeat at home against Lecce; this type of punishment had not been used since the 1996/97 season. The second place in the league is practically a mirage now so Lippi's team does not have much to offer to this season except for the 2nd leg Coppa Italia final.
In fact the only interest this season holds for the bianconeri is about who will replace the departing Marcello Lippi at the helm of the squad. Favourites are Cesare Prandelli and Didier Deschamps with the former having a slight edge over the second.
If Perugia lose on Sunday, they will be mathematically certain that they are relegated. The club, players and coach seem to have already given up hope and only a miracle can save the Umbri from what looks like a certain relegation. Gaucci has pulled back from not sending his players on the player threat, thus Perugia will still play these last 3 games of the season, no matter what the outcome of the results are.
Team News :
Perugia - Hubner is out injured while Diamoutene and Di Loreto are suspended for the Umbri as Cosmi plays his last cards in a bid to save the team from relegation.
Juventus - Lippi will be without the suspended Birindelli and the injured Tacchinardi, Montero and Conte, but will have Del Piero back from the first minute to partner Trezeguet upfront.
Players hopefully on Fire :
Ravanelli (Perugia) - The former Juventus player will surely give his best against the team with whom he won most of his football career trophies. 'Penna bianca' might be getting on with his age but he can still score goals as he has proved this season, especially against weak defences like the bianconeri rearguard currently is.
Del Piero (Juventus) - If the rest of the team does not have much to offer for this season, Del Piero will want to show to Trapattoni that he is ready for the Euro call-up and that he is fully recovered from his muscle problem that sidelined him for the past 2 months.
Line Ups :
Football Italia
Juventus (probable): Buffon; Thuram, Montero, Ferrara, Zambrotta; Appiah, Tudor, Maresca, Nedved; Del Piero, Trezeguet
Line Ups :
Gazzetta
Starter
1 Buffon
21 Thuram
2 Ferrara
13 Iuliano
7 Pessotto
18 Appiah
5 Tudor
19 Zambrotta
11 Nedved
10 Del Piero
17 Trezeguet
Bench
12 Chimenti
23 Legrottaglie
16 Camoranesi
14 Maresca -> Geez.
32 Boudianski ->
9 Miccoli
20 Di Vaio
Line Ups :
SoccerAge
Juventus (4-3-1-2) - Buffon; Thuram, Ferrara, Iuliano, Pessotto; Appiah, Tudor, Zambrotta; Nedved; Del Piero, Trezeguet
Buy on AliExpress.com
