Coppa Italia R16 line-ups: Juventus vs. Cagliari

Football Italia

·17 December 2024

Coppa Italia R16 line-ups: Juventus vs. Cagliari

Juventus try to get back on track in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 against Cagliari, but are forced to use Manuel Locatelli and Weston McKennie in defence.

It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium at 20.00 GMT.

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You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog.

If the tie is level after 90 minutes, it goes directly to a penalty shoot-out without needing extra time.

The winners go on to face Empoli in the quarter-final.

The Bianconeri may have beaten Manchester City in the Champions League, but their domestic form is dismal after four consecutive Serie A draws.

They were jeered off the pitch after scraping a last-gasp 2-2 with rock bottom Venezia on Saturday and now host Cagliari, a side who also drew 1-1 here in Serie A on October 6.

The injury crisis remains extensive, missing Douglas Luiz, Arkadiusz Milik, Jonas Rouhi, Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal.

At least Andrea Cambiaso is available again, but needing to rest some of their only remaining defenders, it means Locatelli becomes a makeshift centre-back and McKennie a curious left-back.

Teun Koopmeiners also drops into midfield, so Francisco Conceicao, Kenan Yildiz and Samuel Mbangula fan out behind Dusan Vlahovic.

Yerry Mina and Dusan Vlahovic during Juventus-Cagliari EPA-EFE/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO

Cagliari were only narrowly beaten 1-0 by both Fiorentina and Atalanta in recent weeks, but have dropped into the bottom three.

They eliminated Carrarese and Cremonese in the Coppa Italia to reach this stage, and can be buoyed by their 1-1 draw at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in October.

Zito Luvumbo is out with a sprained ankle, while Adam Obert also did not make the trip.

There is a rare start for veteran Gianluca Lapadula, supported by Gianluca Gaetano and Razvan Marin.