Crotone know they can't keep possession against Juventus, but set plays and determined tackling could be decisive at the Stadio Scida this evening.
Words: Elio Salerno
Crotone know they can't keep possession against Juventus, but set plays and determined tackling could be decisive at the Stadio Scida this evening.
Words: Elio Salerno
Juventus Coach Max Allegri emphasised the importance of their fixture against Crotone tonight in his pre-match Press conference. Ahead of the title showdown with Napoli at the weekend, Mister Allegri noted that “Of the two games we have this week, the most important and the most decisive is tomorrow”. Maintaining a six-point advantage before that game against Maurizio Sarri’s men is crucial, as any decrease in their lead prior to Sunday night will be a huge boost to Napoli.
Juventus will retain the 4-3-3 they have used for the majority of the season, the approach and style of play generally remains, but it is the starting XI that has been more difficult to predict. The Juventus rotation policy is well documented and he uses this as a way to maintain energy levels within his squad throughout a long season. The last thing the Bianconeri can afford to do is allow fatigue to set in and affect performances, a problem that their rivals from the south appear to be suffering from recently.
Crotone may question how much they should put into this game, as even at their very best and performing above and beyond usual standard, snatching anything from Juve is a supremely difficult task. However, playing against The Old Lady is always a prestigious event, especially in front of their home fans.
Walter Zenga and his players could be forgiven for looking ahead to the weekend too, as Crotone have their very own showdown on Sunday afternoon with relegation rivals Udinese. That is a fixture that carries significant importance in their race against the drop and victory there would pull them to within three points of The Zebrette.
It this with that in mind that we ask what can Crotone do to upset the odds and cause an enormous shock tonight? They will need Paulo Dybala and co to have an off night, hoping their focus lies elsewhere so they can swoop in and take advantage.
The Rossoblu must attempt to cut out the mistakes they have been making all season long. Set pieces will be a key feature of the game, the home side have conceded the most goals from dead ball situations in Serie A (18) and to add to their woes, their visitors have scored the joint highest amount from set-plays (15). With the likes of Dybala and Douglas Costa lurking around, Crotone will need to be extra vigilant in preventing those situations tonight.
Does Zenga have a plan to combat the opposition? The Juventus attack is capable of asking questions of the world’s best defences. Crotone will need their deep, compact block to be disciplined and water tight. The numbers don’t bode well for the Calabrese club. Crotone have allowed the most amount of shots on their goal from inside both the six and 18-yard box in the league, that is a luxury they cannot afford to give a striker like Gonzalo Higuain. They must frustrate and keep Higuain with his back to goal outside the danger area, prevent Douglas Costa from isolating defenders in one-against-one situations and force Dybala to drop deep in order to get on the ball.
When Gli Squali do have possession, they cannot be cheap and hand it over quickly. Now, it is unfair to expect a team with some of the worst possession stats in the league to turn into a Pep Guardiola outfit overnight, so playing a percentage style of football will offer their best hope.
They will need to be direct, play balls into the box, into areas that Juve do not want to defend and get them facing their own goal, applying pressure to keep them locked in. It isn’t pretty, but it will be their most effective way to hurt Juve.
To emphasise Crotone’s plight with the ball, they currently boast the record for the least accurate short passes and highest inaccurate long passes in the current Serie A campaign. Add to that they average the least amount of possession in the top flight (42%) and have the worst pass completion too (70%).
Crotone will be no strangers to their opposition having the majority of possession and that will certainly be the case tonight. They will need to be at their tenacious best, snapping into tackles and intercepting play is something that Zenga’s team do well and they will need to do it very well from the opening minute.
With an early goal and the crowd behind Crotone, it would provide them with the additional motivation and self-belief they need pull off a big scalp. Both sides need a win for very different reasons, three points will help push the victors a step closer to their end of season goal.