Spalletti is expected to set Juventus up in a 4-3-3, with Weston McKennie's engine in midfield and the pace of Nicolas Gonzalez and Douglas Luiz dictating the tempo. The absence of Manuel Locatelli is a blow — the captain could be out until next spring — but Spalletti has options. Khephren Thuram and Kenan Yildiz are also missing, which means the onus falls on McKennie and Luiz to win the midfield dogfight. Juventus will look to control possession, squeeze the half-spaces, and force Atalanta's back three into uncomfortable decisions.

Atalanta will likely line up in Sarri's trademark 3-4-2-1, with Charles De Ketelaere and Gianluca Scamacca leading the line. The visitors will try to press high and disrupt Juventus's build-up, but that is a risky game against a Spalletti side comfortable on the ball. The key battleground is the middle third: if Atalanta's double pivot of Ederson and Franck Kessie can overpower Juventus's makeshift midfield, the visitors can spring counter-attacks through Jonathan Rowe and De Ketelaere. But if Juventus dominate the ball, Atalanta's wing-backs will be pinned back, and Scamacca will cut an isolated figure.