Juventus vs Parma: Can Bianconeri redeem themselves…once again?
Juventus will hope to another setback behind them as they host relegation-threatened Parma in midweek action on Wednesady evening.
A 1-0 loss to Atalanta again has Juventus’s Champions League qualification hopes in jeopardy. Currently in fourth spot, Juventus now have fifth and sixth placed Napoli and Lazio creeping up on them. Atalanta, meanwhile, are desperately hanging onto third and could potentially shove Milan out of second if they continue their aggressive march that has seen them win five in a row.
And that’s not the only drama they’re facing as well. Juventus have been one of the most vocal members of pushing the European Super League that has gotten quite a bit of backlash. All English teams who were drafted into this scheme have jumped ship, fearing the wrath from fans, and while the Bianconeri have stayed quiet, it’s clear the European Super League won’t go ahead as fellow Italian sides AC Milan and Inter have quickly backed away from this whole drama.
Earlier this week, the football world was up in arms following the shocking announcement that 12 clubs had decided to try to form their own tournament. Juventus’s Andrea Agnelli now finds himself under the microscope, with conflicting reports as to whether he’ll actually resign floating around. That’s not what the Bianconeri need as they battle to secure a Champions League spot in what has been nothing short of a very disappointing season in Andrea Pirlo’s first year in charge.
Remember, Juventus sacked Massimiliano Allegri – the man who helped them win several Scudetto and Coppa Italia doubles and led them to the Champions League final for the first time in decades – to bring in Maurizio Sarri. And Sarri saw them crash out of the UCL at the first knockout rounds as they were humiliated by Lyon. They also lost in the Coppa Italia to Sarri’s former side, Napoli. Now, Pirlo will be expected to try to win the Coppa Italia, a competition that they will have to face Atalanta. And one can expect that La Dea will do everything they can to try to win that competition as that’s the only piece of silverware they obviously can clinch this season. While Juve have won the Supercoppa Italiana, that won’t be enough to save Pirlo’s job, especially as Juve won’t win their 10th straight Scudetto.
For all intents and purposes, it seems like an era has now ended and a new dawn has begun. Has the baton passed to Inter, though? Or will fans see the Scudetto being passed amongst a crop of teams? Time will tell.
As for Parma, well, the Crociati could be saying arrivederci to Serie A this time around. They come into this game having lost to Cagliari in a six-pointer, albeit it was a very entertaining clash for the neutrals. They’re facing a Juventus side who have won just three of their last six Serie A games after Porto dumped them out of the UCL but it’s hard to see how they can exploit that to their advantage for some much-needed points. Yes, we’ve seen upsets – Fiorentina managed to beat Juventus 3-0, and Juventus will be missing a few players (ex Fiorentina duo Federico Chiesa and Federico Bernadeschi) but they will welcome Cristiano Ronaldo and Gianluigi Buffon for this match. All in all, it’s hard to see Parma, who were crushed 4-0 by Juve in the reverse fixture getting anything out of a match that will be nothing but damage control for Roberto D’Aversa’s men. They’re dealing with a worrying injury list that hasn’t abated recently and having shipped a whopping seven goals in their last two games, it looks set to be a long evening for the visitors, who surely can’t wait for this miserable campaign to end sooner rather than later.
