We have reached the point in the season where Juventus have played more games than they have left, which means the chances of trying to do something right and turn things around continue to shrink further. in addition. It’s not the time to panic yet in the race for the top four since Juve aren’t even halfway through January, but we’re getting closer to that time when you pay close attention to what they’re doing. the other teams around you as much as you look at your own results.

Juventus’ opponents this weekend, Udinese, are the same side they faced in the 2021-22 season opener, a rather optimistic side given it was Max’s return Allegri but also with a sense of uncertainty based on the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo’s future was very uncertain.

We know how the second part of this played out.

The former is still working on some things, but certainly not shrouded in the same kind of hope that there was at the end of August.

So now that Udinese return for the second leg in Turin, Juventus are really in a situation where they are looking to pick themselves up from the mat after the last-second extra-time loss to Inter Milan in Wednesday night’s Supercoppa. . But with Serie A now back on everyone’s mind, Juventus’ quest to try and find a way into the top four resumes once again. There’s also some help that could come from Juve: Atalanta will face the team that just beat Allegri’s side for the Supercoppa, Inter, on Sunday night.

This means there is a very real possibility, unless Atalanta do something very Atalanta-y and upset the current leaders of Serie A, that Juventus will even shoot 41 points with La Dea if they beat Udinese 24 hours earlier.

But that’s the key, isn’t it? In fact, beating Udinese, something that didn’t happen to open the 2021-22 season at the Dacia Arena.

Juventus, however, are a very different side to the one we saw in Udine almost five months ago. There is obviously no Ronaldo as the rumors that were circulating at the season opener turned out to be completely profitable. Nor is there Federico Chiesa, who is now a week away in the uncertainty that comes with serious knee injuries like the one he suffered in the wild 4-3 win over Roma last Sunday.

And, perhaps most remarkably in both cases, Juve are still a team that falls far short of what you would even consider one of the best in Italy. To quote a line from my friend and fellow BWRAO writer Sergio Romero: I still don’t really know what this team is.

Of course, when we start talking about how things have stabilized defensively, Juve come out and allow Roma three goals and then allow a winning goal like they did at Inter earlier in the week. . Even if the game against Roma is what it was, Juve’s defensive record of 21 goals against is still fourth best in the league.

So if you consider that Udinese have scored 28 goals in 19 games – and we all know how some of them happened – the odds should be in favor of Juventus.

But after playing 120 minutes with the kind of intensity Juve played them with and things ended that way a few days ago, who knows what form this team will be in on Saturday night. They could be the Angry Juventus we saw after a disappointing loss, or they could very well just go through another game against a team in the bottom third of the table and try to get a win.

Everyone’s guessing at this point – which for many is something that’s been said way too many times already this season.

TEAM NEWS

• Federico Chiesa is out for the season after injuring his knee last weekend.
• Aaron Ramsey is still out due to testing positive for COVID-19.
• As Max Allegri said in his pre-match press conference, Leonardo Bonucci suffered a setback after returning from injury and will be out until the next international break.
• Despite returning to full training, Allegri said Danilo is still not 100% ready.
• Giorgio Chiellini will be rested against Udinese, according to Allegri, meaning it will be Matthijs de Ligt – who missed the Supercoppa through suspension – and Daniele Rugani in the center of defense on Saturday night.
• Juan Cuadrado will also return from suspension after missing the Supercoppa.
• Luca Pellegini, who didn’t show up in 2022, “could start”, according to Allegri.
• Saturday’s match will be Allegri’s 300th appearance as Juventus manager in all competitions.

JUVENTUS PLAYER TO WATCH

Take your wizard’s hat.

Get your magic wand.

He’s the guy who ran more than you on Wednesday night.

Max Allegri, as he sometimes wants to do, heaped praise on Weston McKennie during his pregame press conference on Friday. “Weston McKennie ran 10 miles on Wednesday. He is invigorated and has improved, just like the rest of the team,” Allegri said. “We can’t let the pace drop in games, no matter the opposition.”

Sixteen kilometers. SIXTEEN!

For those of you working in miles, that translates to almost 10 miles McKennie covered in his 120 minutes against Inter in the Supercoppa. That is, I feel safe saying, almost 10 miles more than I have run in this calendar year. (I prefer walks in my neighborhood, don’t judge me.) And knowing how everywhere McKennie was on Wednesday night, I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he finished with so much covered ground.

The twist in all of this is that McKennie was not playing in a natural central midfield position for much of the game. And, if you believe some Italian media and their predicted lineups, it could very well be the same case on Saturday night.

Obviously, without his best available winger and some other players – notably Federico Bernardeschi – in need of rest, Allegri needs to get creative (again) as things aren’t exactly that deep up front (yet).

No matter where he plays, however, there’s no denying that McKennie is one of the most in-form players at Juventus right now. And for good things to happen to a Juve midfielder, that’s not exactly something we’ve been able to say much over the past couple of years.

MATCH INFO

When: Saturday January 15, 2022.

When: Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy.

Official kick-off time: 8:45 p.m. local time in Italy and throughout Europe; 7:45 p.m. in the UK; 2:45 p.m. Eastern Time; 11:45 a.m. PT.

HOW TO WATCH

Television: BT Sport 1 (UK); Sky Sport 251, Sky Sport Uno, Sky Sport 4K, Sky Sport Calcio (Italy).

Online/Mobile: Paramount+, fuboTV (United States); BT Sport app, BTSport.com (UK); NOW TV, DAZN, SKY Go Italia (Italy).

Other live view options can be found here, and as always, you can also follow us live and all the bullshit we say on Twitter. If you haven’t done so already, join the community on Black & White & Read All Over, and join the discussion below.