A long absentee list
Juventus named a 23-man squad for the trip to Genoa, and the notable feature is who is missing. [1] lists Kenan Yıldız, Francisco Conceição, Nicolás González, Khéphren Thuram, Manuel Locatelli, Zeki Çelik, Jeff Ekhator, Arkadiusz Milik and Kamil Grabara as unavailable. That takes out attacking creativity, midfield engine room and defensive depth in a single stroke.
The picture may be worse still. A press roundup carried by [2] says Rabiot, Moreira and Gila remain out and that Loftus-Cheek is injured. That report is rated less certain than the official squad news, so treat those names with some caution. Even so, the sheer volume of absentees means Luciano Spalletti has little room for experiment.
The consequence is that selection is driven as much by availability as by preference. Midfield cover is thin with Locatelli and Thuram out, and the loss of Yıldız removes the club’s most obvious source of invention in the final third. Whoever plays will be asked to cover more ground and take on more responsibility than a settled XI would.
The striker question
The main talking point is Randal Kolo Muani. According to [3], citing Tuttosport and Corriere dello Sport, he may be left on the bench. His numbers help explain why: three goals in 11 appearances this season, only one of them in Serie A, despite nine league starts.
Nick Woltemade is expected to start at Genoa, his third consecutive start across all competitions. Kerim Alajbegović is the reported favourite to partner him in a 3-5-2, though a separate report says he could instead play behind the German striker. The sources differ on the exact role, and none of this is confirmed until the team sheet appears.
Spalletti has not written Kolo Muani off. He said the Frenchman can work in the attacking space of a 3-4-2-1, almost as an attacking midfielder or outside forward, according to [4]. That suggests the question is less about whether he features than about where, and how much he is trusted to deliver in a crowded and weakened squad.
Shape, rotation and a crowded calendar
Spalletti used his pre-match press conference to stress that he alone decides tactics and formation. He described the recent move to a 3-4-2-1 as a deliberate set-up designed for the future, and said a small rotation is enough to shift between that shape and others. A 3-5-2 at Genoa would fit that logic: a back three retained, with the front line rearranged to suit the personnel available.
Fatigue is the other theme. Spalletti noted that the squad has played three games in nine days and has four more before the 8 November international break, which he called a risk for both fatigue and mentality. With so many players injured, the load falls on a smaller group, so the tolerance for rotation is limited.
One caveat on timing: the squad report refers to the match on both Wednesday and Thursday, so the day is unclear in that source. The site’s records list the fixture for 28 October.
What it means
Juventus sit seventh in Serie A with 14 points from eight games (four wins, two draws, two defeats), with 11 goals scored and eight conceded. The 2-0 win at Lecce on 25 October, with goals from Weston McKennie and Douglas Luiz, ended a 35-day wait for a league victory, per [5]. Before that came a 0-3 home loss to Lazio and a 1-1 draw at Cagliari, so the recent run is uneven rather than convincing.
The form line reads W, L, D, W, L across the last five league games. That inconsistency matters at Genoa, because a side missing so many first-choice players will struggle to keep control of a whole match. Back-to-back wins would lift confidence and reinforce the 3-4-2-1 project Spalletti is building.
The site’s forecast leans towards Juventus: a win at 56.0%, a draw at 26.0% and a Genoa win at 18.0%, with a predicted score of 0-1. That is a narrow margin, consistent with a team that can win while still looking short of goals. The fixture asks whether Woltemade and Alajbegović, or Kolo Muani if he plays, can supply the one goal that a thin squad may need.
Sources
- Football Italia: Official: Spalletti names 23-man Juventus squad for Genoa football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Today’s Papers – Double Napoli blow, Juventus drop Kolo Muani? football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Spalletti set to drop Kolo Muani for Juventus’ clash against Genoa football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Spalletti: ‘Juventus players wouldn’t dare to dictate the system we play with’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Boniek slams Juventus: ‘I don’t see a team of champions, just good players’ football-italia.net ↩
