Juventus will be looking to return to winning ways when they take on Lecce at the Via del Mare. The Bianconeri are coming off two**back-to-back stalemates against Milan** in Serie A and Aston Villa in the Champions League, where they have been impeded by the lack of strikers at Thiago Motta’s disposal.
And with Dusan Vlahovic still out of action, Juve will have to negotiate yet another contest without a proper centre-forward. The Serbian is one of nine unavailable players. The injury list also includes the likes of Arek Milik, Weston McKennie, Douglas Luiz, Nico Gonzalez, in addition to long-term absentees Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal.
So how will Juventus line up against their southern hots on Sunday night?
According to Sky Sport Italia, the team sheet will be similar to the one that took the field at Villa Park on Wednesday, as Motta hardly has any room to maneuver. At this stage, the lineup is almost picking itself.
Danilo saluting Juve fans
With Nicolo Savona**becoming the latest absentee**, club captain Danilo will force his way into the lineup at right-back, joining Federico Gatti, Pierre Kalulu and Andrea Cambiaso. The only voluntary change Motta will make is to drop Michele Di Gregorio in favor of Mattia Perin who will get another chance to shine in goal.
On the other hand, the rest of the lineup will remain intact, with Manuel Locatelli linking up with Khephren Thuram in the double pivot, thus keeping Nicolo Fagioli on the bench.
Teun Koopmeiners will be hoping to impress after two listless displays when he operates as an attacking midfielder. The young Francisco Conceicao and Kenan Yildiz will take the wings, while Timothy will be once again tasked with interpreting the striker role.
Juventus Probable XI (4-2-3-1): Perin; Danilo, Kalulu, Gatti, Cambiaso; Locatelli, Thuram; Conceicao, Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Vlahovic.