Juventus arrive at the final match before the international break with a European response behind them but little room for another domestic setback. Luciano Spalletti’s side swept NEC aside 5-0 in the Europa League, yet Serie A has offered a less forgiving measure: a 1-1 draw with Milan in the postponed fixture and a 3-2 defeat to Sassuolo have left the Allianz Stadium meeting with Atalanta carrying unusual weight for late September.
The decision
Spalletti has sought stability after the difficult afternoon in Reggio Emilia, and found it in Europe through a return to a three-man defence. Juventus used a flexible 3-4-2-1 against NEC, with the capacity to shift into a 4-2-3-1 as Weston McKennie moved from a wider role towards the attacking midfield line.
The American’s return was one of the encouraging notes from the European win. Spalletti rested, or managed the minutes of, several players with Atalanta in mind, and Juventus are expected to retain the same adaptable structure for the league fixture.
There is, however, a growing cost to the season’s opening weeks. Reserve goalkeeper Kamil Grabara has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury and will undergo surgery. He joins Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram and Manuel Locatelli among four Juventus players requiring operations in roughly 20 days.
Guglielmo Vicario is set to provide authority in goal, with Gleison Bremer central to the defensive line. In attack, Francisco Conceicao is expected to join Nico Gonzalez behind Randal Kolo Muani, who scored after coming off the bench in the Europa League and is ahead of Nick Woltemade for the central role.
Douglas Luiz should again direct the midfield, while Gonzalez and the Brazilian have an added reason to make an impression against Atalanta sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli. Both arrived in Turin in the summer of 2024, when Juventus invested €38 million in them, and both have become increasingly important under Spalletti after earlier criticism.
Pape Sarr is also pressing for a larger part in the side. The Senegal midfielder arrived on the final day of the transfer window after Atalanta, with Giuntoli’s involvement, secured Franck Kessie instead. Spalletti has described Sarr as a thoroughbred, and the player believes his adaptation is being helped by the coach and by Vicario, his former Tottenham teammate.
“Vicario gives me plenty of advice and he and Spalletti are helping me settle in,” Sarr said. “Atalanta will be a difficult opponent, but we have prepared properly. It is a major opportunity for us and we want to win again in the league.”
Sunday’s picture
Atalanta arrive with Maurizio Sarri, the most recent coach to deliver a Scudetto for Juventus in 2020, on the opposing bench. The reunion is one strand of a broader contest: Juventus want to enter the break with their league position steadied, rather than allowing a poor result to extend the discussion around the club and the persistent calls from some supporters for Antonio Conte.
For Spalletti, the NEC victory restored conviction in the squad’s spirit, shape and performance. The challenge now is to carry that work into Serie A, where the standard is higher and the consequences of another winless weekend would linger throughout a 20-day pause in the calendar.
