Having just crashed out in the Coppa Italia semi-finals – and after suffering three straight Serie A defeats – Juventus arrived at Bologna’s Stadio Dall’Ara in desperate need of a positive result to stop their rollercoaster season sliding off track, but once again they came up short.
Standing in for Dusan Vlahovic, who was struggling with an ankle injury and could only make a late cameo from the bench, Milik at least redeemed himself on the hour mark: slotting home following fine work from teenage substitute Samuel Iling – one of several young guns to break through this season.
Out of the Coppa, and with the Europa League their last hope of salvaging some silverware from a tumultuous campaign, Juve’s main aim is now to retain a top-four place in Serie A, but their recent travails mean that even seventh-placed Atalanta have drawn within five points with six games remaining.
Bremer and club captain Leonardo Bonucci therefore front the queue for promotion from the bench, with Samuel Iling’s impressive cameo in Bologna making him a contender too. Allegri has said that Adrien Rabiot and Alex Sandro will both be rested.
While Moise Kean is still sidelined, Dusan Vlahovic seems to have overcome his ankle problem, so the Serbian striker vies with Arkadiusz Milik to feature up front; either Federico Chiesa, Matias Soule or the returning Angel Di Maria will start in support.
Only long-term absentee Marin Pongracic will be unavailable to Marco Baroni due to injury, so Lecce could remain almost unchanged following their win over Udinese. Top scorer Gabriel Strefezza must serve a suspension though; Lameck Banda is his likeliest replacement.
