Juventus coach Thiago Motta will be looking to rest some of his key players in the Coppa Italia contest against Cagliari.
The Bianconeri will kickstart their cup campaign by hosting the Isolani at the Allianz Stadium on Tuesday night in the Round of 16, and as per custom, this tournament will allow the manager to rotate the lineup, at least where he can amidst the ongoing injury crisis.
As Tuttosport explains, the 42-year-old will likely have to maintain the same personnel at the back due to the lack of options.
Motta will be hoping to regain the services of Andrea Cambiaso who suffered an ankle injury against Bologna which ruled him out of the Champions League clash against Man City and the recent Serie A contest against Venezia.
However, most sources don’t expect the versatile player to shake off his injury in time. Therefore, Motta could be left with only four options for the second match in a row. In this case, Nicolo Savona, Pierre Kalulu, Federico Gatti and club captain Danilo will maintain their roles, that is unless Motta decides to field Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie at the back.
On the other hand, Juventus have choices in the middle of the park. Khephen Thuram and McKennie started in the double pivot on Saturday, so Manuel Locatelli should return following a rare rest. The 26-year-old could link up with Nicolo Fagioli who has been struggling for playing time as of late.
There could also be some space for Douglas Luiz who made his return to action against Venezia after two months on the sidelines. The Brazilian could fill in for Teun Koopmeiners who looks like he could use some time off.
The Turin-based newspaper also expects Kenan Yildiz to get a breather, while Francisco Conceicao returns to the starting lineup.
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