By Kaustubh Pandey
It’s becoming that each Juve and Metropolis had been held to attracts on the weekend. Thiago Motta was despatched the stands as his facet nearly managed to take some extent from the sport in opposition to his former membership Bologna, as Pep Guardiola‘s Residents picked up a 2-2 draw in opposition to Crystal Palace.
Each side have fallen away from the title races of their respective leagues too. Juve are sixth within the Serie A desk, seven factors away from league main Atalanta. Metropolis are fourth within the Premier League and are eight factors away from Liverpool.
The Bianconeri have eight factors within the Champions League and so do Metropolis, as each of them look to enter the highest eight. There may be additionally a correlation between Motta and Guardiola, with the ex-Italy midfielder having sought inspiration from the Spaniard up to now.
It’s fairly obvious that each at the moment face issues at their respective golf equipment.
Juventus’ struggling assault
Whereas Juve have probably the most variety of cleansheets in Serie A, their assault has been very disappointing.
They’ve the eighth-highest xG in Serie A they usually’ve registered 4 pictures on the right track per recreation, which is the ninth-best tally within the league.
Motta continues to be struggling to tie the assault collectively and fairly a little bit of it’s due to accidents, a number of it’s due to the profiles of gamers. Joshua Zirkzee isn’t with him anymore and he has extra of a poacher in striker Dušan Vlahović, which means that Motta’s attacking setup seems disjointed at occasions.
The Serbian’s final objective in Serie A got here in October and the Bianconeri have relied on targets from Samuel Mbangula and Kenan Yıldız, with Nico González injured and Teun Koopmeiners but to settle in absolutely.
Metropolis’s porous defence
As has been extensively documented, Guardiola’s facet have suffered from Rodri‘s absence however their issues do transcend that.
They’ve the eleventh worst xG conceded determine within the Premier League, which exhibits that the Spaniard hasn’t fairly tailored to the midfielder’s harm and Metropolis’s growing old squad is now slowly however certainly displaying increasingly vulnerabilities.
They’ve proven an inclination to get uncovered on the break and Juve, who do have fast and younger gamers in Yıldız and Mbangula would like to make the most of that weak spot.
Juve have large harm points
Juve are going by harm points, with each Bremer and Juan Cabal out on account of ACL accidents. Douglas Luiz and Gonzalez are additionally out, with Arek Milik anticipated to solely return subsequent yr. Andrea Cambiaso, who has impressed this season, may additionally miss the sport.
Metropolis have issues of their very own
Rodri and Oscar Bobb are long-term harm absentees, however Mateo Kovačić and John Stones are additionally out. Each Manuel Akanji and Nathan Aké additionally picked up accidents in latest weeks and can miss the conflict in Turin.
Prediction
It could be a battle of Juve’s misfiring assault and Metropolis’s chaotic defending. May one cancel out the opposite? Or may Juve snatch three factors on this one?
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
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