53' An Atalanta corner breaks down and allows Juventus to attack at pace via Ronaldo, but Hateboer comes across to help Toloi win the ball back from the Portugal international.
51' Illicic finds Gomez in space but Bentancur comes across to close down the angle - blocking the eventual shot out for a corner.
48' Gosens was slated to start the match, but a late hamstring injury meant Castagne’s inclusion in the XI - which has worked well for Gasperini. The late inclusion has been a real threat down the left - with both Bernardeschi and Cuadrado booked on that side.
46' Juventus get the match restarted from the kick-off!
There’s no doubt about the strength of Juventus’ depth, with internationals Higuain, Rasmey, Pjanic and Douglas Costa all available should the manager wish to change something in either attack or midfield. Atalanta will be happy to leave things as they are, though Caldara or Malinovskiy should be able to provide further defensive cover should the lead hold until late in the match.
Juventus enter the half-time interval down 1-0 thanks to Zapata’s fantastic finish after just 16 minutes. After a positive early spell, the hosts seemed more comfortable allowing their opponents to hold onto possession, with the pace of Dybala and Ronaldo looking to hit on the break. It didn’t quite unfold as planned, however, as the Bianconeri were unable to get in behind the defence, nor play their way through it as Gasperini’s unorthodox formation troubled Sarri’s side. Dybala has looked the brightest spark in the Juve attack, but they haven’t tested Gollini nearly enough in the first half.
45' + 2' HALF-TIME: JUVENTUS 1-0 ATALANTA.
45' The fourth official indicates two minutes will be added at the end of the half.
44' Dybala scored three goals in 17 Serie A appearances under Gian Piero Gasperini when he was at Palermo in the 2012/13 season.
42' CHANCE! Cuadrado plays it through into the penalty area for Dybala, but the forward’s chip across the face of goal for Ronaldo draws the flag of the linesman, as the Portugal international had drifted into an offside position.
40' Juventus are holding onto the ball for the first time in a while, but they are unable to make any inroads as it’s returned back to the goalkeeper. With less than five minutes to go until half-time, it doesn’t look like the hosts will draw level before the break.
38' Juventus resort to another long pass over the top - this time hit by Bonucci - but a diving Bernardeschi is unable to bring the ball down under his control as Gollini gathers for the goal-kick.
36' Juventus narrowly escape after a much better corner comes in from Atalanta, with a near-post flick-on allowing Zapata to almost pot his second; denied ultimately by the well-placed Rabiot.
34' A short-corner routine ends in disappointment for Atalanta as Castagne’s eventual delivery is put right into the grateful hands of Szczesny.
32' DYBALA FLASHES WIDE! A fantastic lobbed pass from midfield is brought down over the shoulder by the Juventus striker inside the penalty area, but his quick-fire volley is pushed away by Gollini at full-stretch!
31' SO CLOSE! Castagne delivers another dangerous cross in search of the lurking Zapata. The unmarked striker rises highest, but the ball sails narrowly above his head and out for a goal-kick.
27' Gomez delivers a cross to the edge of the six-yard box from a central position, but Zapata is beaten to the ball by De Ligt - who does just enough to put it outside the penalty area for Atalanta to recover.
25' Castagne puts an absolutely sensational slide tackle in on Cuadrado, stealing the ball from the right-back before charging into the penalty area. With options to his right and Rabiot in retreat to cover, the winger takes a heavy touch and rolls it behind for a goal-kick disappointingly.
23' De Ligt is once again down in pain, this time after his groin was accidentally stepped on following a collision with Zapata. He is having quite the return since suspension - tasked with trying to stop Italy’s best attack.
21' Dybala skips past Palomino with ease but instead of testing Gollini, the forward looks to play Ronaldo through on goal - allowing the defence to scramble back and clear it away.
19' Play is stopped momentarily as De Ligt appears to be in some pain after an aerial duel with Zapata which left the defender clutching his shoulder.
17' Dybala immediately tries to get Juventus back level with a vicious volley, but he's unable to beat Gollini, who saves it well.
15' Atalanta have lost 65 games and conceded 214 goals so far against Juventus – both more than against any other Serie A opponent.
13' Juve have dropped back and allowed Atalanta to come onto them as the Bianconeri continue to chase shadows. It looks like the hosts will be happy to hit on the counter-attack and let their opponents dictate the pace of play.
11' Illicic puts the ensuing free-kick into the area, but the flat delivery allows Cuadrado to clear it easily on the volley.
8' Atalanta are shifting the Juve defence from right to left as they look for a way to break into the penalty area. The hosts are remaining resilient in their shape, but they’re finding it difficult to win the ball back.
6' Castagne wins some room to cross in front of a covering Cuadrado, and puts a lovely cross into the penalty area which is met well by Zapata - who nods the chance just over the bar!
4' The free-kick is chipped in but it’s repelled at the near post by a defender. The Bianconeri recover possession just outside the 18, but the tight visiting defence is denying any space to play.
3' Dybala slaloms through the Atalanta defence towards the byline before Palomino’s crunching tackle stopped the forward in his tracks. It’s an early free-kick for Juve near the corner flag.
1' Atalanta get the match underway from the kick-off!
Atalanta make three changes from their 2-0 victory over Sampdoria on Wednesday, with Caldara dropped to the bench for Palomino in defence, and De Roon and Castagne playing ahead of Pasalic and Gosens in midfield.
Juventus make three changes from their 4-2 defeat to Milan on Tuesday. De Ligt returns after suspension, dropping Rugani to the bench, while Pjanic makes way for Matuidi in the centre of midfield. The final switch is at forward, with Dybala playing furthest forward - preferred over Higuain.
ATALANTA SUBS: Francesco Rossi, Raoul Bellanova, Ebrima Colley, Adrien Tameze, Bosko Sutalo, Ruslan Malinovskiy, Lennart Czyborra, Mario Pasalic, Luis Muriel, Timothy Castagne, Mattia Caldara, Marco Sportiello.
ATALANTA XI (3-4-2-1): Pierluigi Gollini; Berat Djimsiti, Rafael Toloi, Jose Luis Palomino; Hans Hateboer, Marten De Roon, Remo Freuler, Timothy Castagne; Josip Illicic, Duvan Zapata, Alejandro Gomez.
JUVE SUBS: Marco Olivieri, Alex Sandro, Carlo Pinsoglio, Daniele Rugani, Gonzalo Higuain, Aaron Ramsey, Douglas Costa, Gianluigi Buffon, Simone Muratore, Mattia De Sciglio, Miralem Pjanic.
JUVENTUS XI (4-3-3): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Matthijs De Ligt, Leonardo Bonucci, Juan Cuadrado; Adrien Rabiot, Blaise Matuidi, Rodrigo Bentancur; Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala, Federico Bernardeschi.
With just over 10 minutes until kick-off, let’s take a look at the team news - starting with the hosts!
Atalanta’s incredible season continued this week as a 2-0 win over Sampdoria on Wednesday saw them win their 11th straight match in all competitions. Two points back of second-place Lazio, a win for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side at the Allianz Stadium would see them overtake the Biancocelesti with just six matches remaining.
Lazio’s last-minute loss at Sassuolo earlier in the day means that Juventus have the opportunity to go a full 10 points clear of second place with a win today against free-scoring Atalanta. The Bianconeri will be looking to make amends after a poor showing in a 4-2 defeat to Milan on Tuesday, but the return of Matthijs De Ligt from suspension should buoy the defence.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the Serie A fixture between Juventus and Atalanta!
