Andrea Pirlo ALREADY at a tactical crossroads at Juventus… with question marks over his formation

Five games into the new season and his first management role and Andrea Pirlo is starting at a tactical crossroads.  

His side have already dropped points with three draws alongside their two wins and have struggled without Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala leading the line up front. Dybala returned at the weekend but his presence was not enough to earn Juve all three points as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Verona.

Pirlo has utilised different formations during his opening fixtures with the manager alternating from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-1-2 and 3-4-3 set-up. 

The visit of Barcelona on Wednesday provides the manager with an opportunity to employ a 4-2-3-1 system, but there are still a number of tactical dilemmas facing him across the pitch.

Andrea Pirlo is facing a tactical crossroads just five games into the new Serie A season

Juventus have struggled without Cristiano Ronaldo who has been missing with coronavirus

DEFENCE

On the advice of his former team-mates Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, Pirlo moved away from Maurizio Sarri’s overly complicated system.

The coach returned to a three-man defence with two attacking full-backs in Danilo and Juan Cuadrado with a strong centre back pairing of Chiellini and Bonucci.  

But with Chiellini joining Matthijs de Ligt on the injury list, Merih Demiral will likely come in to the back four to face Barca.

Danilo and Cuadrado have proven to be excellent full-back options and will add solidarity to Pirlo’s defence.

Pirlo reverted back to a strong centre back pairing of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci

MIDFIELD

Pirlo has failed to settle on a midfield two with the manager struggling to find the right balance between the options available to him.

Weston McKennie started the first two games alongside Frenchman Adrien Rabiot before he switched to Arthur and Rodrigo Bentancur for the match against Crotone.

Aaron Ramsey played alongside Arthur and Rabiot in the last game but McKennie will be available to return following his recovery from coronavirus. 

McKennie will be useful for his aggression while Arthur can operate as a pivot to provide to link up the play. 

Rabiot would provide more energy and Bentancur possesses the strength and technique to play alongside any of the other midfielders. 

Weston McKennie (L) and Adrien Rabiot (R) started the first two games in central midfield

WINGS

Two of the wide players available to Pirlo, Dejan Kulusevski and Federico Chiesa, are proably the best in Serie A. 

Kulusevski was introduced off the bench against Verona on Sunday and the Sweden international caused all sorts of problems before firing in the equaliser that spared Pirlo his first defeat as Juve boss.

Chiesa was suspended for the match following his red card against Crotone but will likely start against Barca. The winger can take players on but also possesses incredible strength and endurance which makes him an even bigger threat going forward.

The 4-2-3-1 formation is perfect for the players at Pirlo’s disposal. The only problem he faces is who to start in attack.

Dejan Kulusevski has shown he can cause opposition defences problems going forward

ATTACK

Ronaldo is fundamental to Juventus. The forward can win games on his own and Pirlo looks to have created a role for him similar to that of the one made for Karim Benzema at Real Madrid.

Ronaldo would play as a false nine but with the goalscoring numbers of a traditional No 9. 

The Champions League tie with the Catalans is the perfect chance for Pirlo to use the 4-2-3-1, which could become a 4-4-2 when defending.

With a hectic schedule and Ronaldo still unavailable due to contracting coronavirus, Pirlo may need to rotate his forward options but in Alvaro Morata and Dybala he has plenty of attacking threat to choose from. 

Paulo Dybala can offer Pirlo another attacking threat in Ronaldo’s absence up front

Ronaldo can play in the false nine role but with the goalscoring talents of a traditional No 9