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As we sit here on the second Sunday of April, Juventus is playing with readjusted objectives. Progression in Europe has been gone for weeks now. Same probably goes for having any chance of making it 10 straight Serie A titles. And because of how the league table looks, the ability to try and lock down a top four finish has now become priority No. 1 in a season where that was looked at as a worst-case kind of scenario.
With the amount of league games now under 10, there’s only so many chances left to ensure that there’s Champions League football next season. That means there’s only so many more opportunities to try and beat lower-table clubs that have been a source of major frustration this season.
Like, you know, today when Genoa come to Allianz Stadium for a little Sunday afternoon encounter on the doorstep of a huge stretch of games for Juventus to close out the season. Juventus has already beaten Genoa twice this season — once in Serie A and once in the Coppa Italia — so that might make one believe that things are relatively favorable entering this game. But as we’ve seen so many times this season, following the logic and everything comes with it can end up being a dangerous game to play. Yes, even after Juventus’ big 2-1 win over Napoli all of a few days ago.
So now we see if Juventus can actually build off their win midweek. That’s obviously easier said than done, and this is very much a team that zigs just when you think they will zag. (Or something like that.) It’s like this team is completely unpredictable when it comes to playing teams who aren’t very good.
Or, in case you’ve forgotten, Juventus has been all that good against clubs like Genoa who sit in the middle or bottom part of the table this season.
@Pirlo_official: "We lost a lot of points against teams who are lower than us in the standings, it was our flaw, but there are a lot of points up for grabs and we want to finish well."#JuveGenoa
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) April 10, 2021
And until Juventus kick the habit completely, it will only continue to be quite the flaw. Maybe there’s some progress made today, maybe there isn’t. There’s only one way to find out, though, and hopefully there’s some good news because of it.
MATCH INFO
When: Sunday, April 11, 2021
Where: Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy
Official kickoff time: 3 p.m. local time in Italy and across Europe; 2 p.m. in the United Kingdom; 9 a.m. Eastern Time; 6 a.m. Pacific Time
STARTING LINEUPS
Juventus starting XI (4-4-2): Szczesny; Cuadrado, de Ligt, Chiellini, Danilo; Kulusevski, Bentancur, Rabiot, Chiesa; Morata, Ronaldo
Juventus bench: Buffon, Pinsoglio, Alex Sandro, Demiral, Di Pardo, Dragusin, Frabotta, Arthur, Ramsey, McKennie, Fagioli, Dybala
Genoa starting XI (3-5-2): Perin; Masiello, Radovanovic, Criscito; Biraschi, Rovella, Badelj, Behrami, Zappacosta; Pandev, Scamacca
HOW TO WATCH
Television: TLN (Canada); Premier Sports 1 (United Kingdom); Sky Sport Serie A, Sky Sport 252 (Italy)
Online/mobile: ESPN+ (United States); DAZN (Canada); Premier Player HD (United Kingdom); Sky Go Italia, NOW TV (Italy)
Other live viewing options can be found here, and as always, you can also follow along with us live and all the stupid things we say on Twitter. If you haven’t already, join the community on Black & White & Read All Over, and join in the discussion below.