Dybala back, but on the bench - How Juventus could line-up versus Roma

Martin Macdonald

Andrea Pirlo enjoyed a near-perfect start to his reign as Juventus boss last weekend as the Bianconeri swept aside Sampdoria with a comfortable 3-0 win.

Dejan Kulusevski, Leonardo Bonucci, and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo got on the scoresheet.

FootballCritic previously wrote about how Pirlo masterminded his first win as Juventus head coach.

Although Sampdoria weren't up to much, it is hard to think of a more satisfying start to his tenure.

Like last weekend, though, he is almost being forced into his starting XI against Roma due to injuries in certain positions.

Matthijs de Ligt will once again miss out as he recovers from shoulder surgery, while Federico Bernardeschi will unlikely recover from a thigh strain in time.

Danilo should deputise again for the Dutchman in a back three alongside stalwarts Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.

Weston McKennie was impressive on his debut, and will start again alongside Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot in midfield.

Another debutant, youngster Gianluca Frabotta, has earned his spot at left-wing back again, with Juan Cuadrado likely to feature on the right wing.

Pirlo will eventually have more options up top, with Alvaro Morata arriving on loan from Atletico Madrid this week, but it is too early for the Spaniard to be thrown straight into the action.

Crucially, Paulo Dybala has returned to full training following a thigh injury, but Pirlo will probably settle for the same starting XI which defeated Sampdoria for now while the Argentine gets back to match fitness.

That means that Kulusevski and Ronaldo will partner each other up top.

Arthur will probably have to wait a little bit longer for his first start.

Juventus predicted XI v Roma:

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