Only two Juventus centre-backs fit for Bologna: Who could play in Tudor’s back three

A series of injury concerns means that Igor Tudor and Juventus have been left with just two centre-backs fit and eligible to play in the crucial Serie A match away against Bologna on Sunday, which means that somebody will likely have to play out of position in the back three at the Dall’Ara. 

Sunday’s match is massively important in the race for Champions football. Juventus currently sit in fourth place in the Serie A standings (62 points), while Bologna sit just one point behind them in fifth (61 points). Roma and Lazio (both on 60 points) could be ready to pounce should Sunday’s game end in a draw. 

Which Juventus players are unavailable for Bologna?

Friday’s reports suggest that Tudor will have to shake a few things up in his Juventus line-up in order to cover for the absences among the playing gruppo. 

Pierre Kalulu and Renato Veiga are the only senior options at centre-back after a recent set-back suffered by Lloyd Kelly. Federico Gatti is not yet back from his fractured fibula and Gleison Bremer has been absent for over six months with an ACL injury. 

That means that either Manuel Locatelli, Andrea Cambiaso or Nicolo Savona are in line to start in the back three against Bologna. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Cambiaso is the most likely of the three to step back into the defensive line, with Timothy Weah primed to start at wing-back instead. 

Who could start in attack for Bologna-Juventus?

Juventus also have a number of absences in the attacking department. Kenan Yildiz has been given a two-match ban for violent conduct, which means that he will not play, nor will Teun Koopmeiners who trained individually on Thursday. 

Dusan Vlahovic trained partially with the first-team group on Thursday, which means that there are no guarantees regarding his availability to start. 

With potentially three of Tudor’s first-choice attackers out, there will likely be starting opportunities for Nico Gonzalez and Francisco Conceicao, with either Vlahovic or Randal Kolo Muani starting at centre-forward.