Dusan Vlahovic Set To Return For Juventus In Serie A Match Against Bologna

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Dusan Vlahovic is set to return for Juventus in their Serie A match against Bologna on Saturday, as confirmed by Thiago Motta. Vlahovic has been absent from Juventus' last three matches due to a muscle injury in his left thigh sustained during November's international break. As the club's leading scorer this season with six goals, he aims to increase his tally against Bologna, a team he has historically performed well against.

Vlahovic has netted six goals in 10 appearances against Bologna while playing for Fiorentina and Juventus, with only Cagliari conceding more goals to him (seven). "Dusan will be in the group tomorrow. He has trained with the team this week," Motta stated during a press conference on Friday. "We are happy with his return, that he can do what he likes. It's his job to go on the pitch and play football."

In addition to Vlahovic, midfielder Vasilije Adzic and defender Nicolo Savona will also be available after missing the previous match. However, Motta will have to manage without several key players, including Gleison Bremer, Juan Cabal, Nico Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Arkadiusz Milik, and Weston McKennie for Saturday's game.

The Juventus head coach is preparing to face his former club Bologna for the first time since leaving them in June. During his tenure at Bologna, Motta led the team to a Champions League spot for the first time since 1964-65 and achieved a record points tally of 68 in Serie A.

Motta praised Bologna's current form but emphasised that Juventus must concentrate on their own performance and avoid mistakes. "Bologna are doing well and are a great team," Motta remarked. "But we have to focus on what we have to do, and many other things that we should avoid." He noted that Bologna plays with high intensity and verticality.

Reflecting on his time at Bologna, Motta shared that he enjoyed two wonderful years there both personally and professionally. Meanwhile, Juventus currently sit sixth in the league standings, trailing leaders Napoli by six points after drawing four of their last six Serie A matches.

Challenges for Juventus

Motta has overseen 19 games as Juventus manager across all competitions (W8 D10 L1), with only Cestmir Vycpalek reaching ten draws faster since 1929-30. The team's recent struggles include scoring just once in their last three matches across all competitions.

"We're coming off a few games that we haven't won," Motta admitted. "In some we've had good performances, but we need to improve." He stressed that improving their offensive play requires collective effort starting from the goalkeeper.

Motta highlighted the importance of having more players involved in attacking plays while also maintaining strong defensive efforts to prevent opponents from creating opportunities.