Malmo vs Juventus: Bianconeri desperate for much needed restart
Juventus will be desperately seeking a boost in fortunes when they travel to face Swedish minnows Malmo on Wednesday. It’s been a nightmare start to the season for La Vecchia Signora, who are still without a win after picking up just one point from their first three Serie A matches.
Malmo, for their part, will be looking to show that even minnows have teeth. The Swedish side, who are back in the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2015, have gotten here after surviving a grueling qualifying process that saw them beat Eastern European outfits Riga and Ludogorets, plus Finnish side HJK Helsinki and Scottish champs Rangers. Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side have seen a slight dip in their domestic form, but will be hoping to nick a point – or perhaps more – against a Juventus side who are still struggling to find their footing.
With reigning champions Chelsea also in this group, and with the Blues expected to be a sure-fire entrant into the round of 16, Malmo, who finished bottom of their quartet last time they were in the Champions League, will be definitely banking on picking up points against Russian outfit Zenit as they bid to secure a possible spot in the Europa League. Starting off well here would certainly put them in good stead for that pair of upcoming games.
Juventus have been dealt a blow due to the absences of wingers Federico Chiesa and Federico Bernardeschi, both of whom have been ruled out with injuries. However, La Vecchia Signora will be welcoming back their South American contingent, with players like Paulo Dybala, Alex Sandro, Juan Cuadrado, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Danilo all part of the traveling party to Sweden. The pressure definitely will be on the visitors to get a result here, especially as they have failed to make the grade in this competition for the past few seasons. And given that they will have to face Chelsea, who will be their toughest opponents, if Juventus can’t get a win here, they may find themselves involved in a unwanted battle with Zenit and Malmo just to secure second – or possibly even third – place.
Having failed to win their last eight matches under Allegri’s tenure, the onus will be on the Italian tactician to rally his side out of their funk. Things really haven’t gone Juve’s way since Cristiano Ronaldo departed, but one really can’t blame the Portuguese superstar’s move to Manchester United as the sole reason the team’s not done well. Alvaro Morata, who had a frustrating time at EURO 2020 with Spain, continues to struggle up front, and defensively, they don’t look as solid as they once did.
Still, Juventus do come into this match as favorites simply due to their experience on the bigger stage. That being said, Malmo certainly won’t be showing any fear as they’re playing at home and will want to send a message to the other teams in this quartet: that they’re not simply here to make up the numbers. Will Juventus be able to finally shake off their stupor and get back on track, or will Malmo become the latest side to heap more misery on the struggling Turin giants?
