Juventus entered the current campaign with high expectations following Luciano Spalletti’s rapid turnaround of the club after Igor Tudor’s dismissal in match-week 8 of the previous season. However, after narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification following a 2-2 draw with cross-city rivals Torino on the final day of 2025-26, significant concern now surrounds the Italian giants early in the season.

Although the Juventus board signalled their trust in Luciano Spalletti by extending his contract through June 2028 last April, the Bianconeri could part ways with the former Roma, Inter, and Napoli coach much sooner if the team’s current form does not improve.

Following their frustrating 1-1 draw to Cagliari at the Unipol Domus stadium, the Turin based club currently sit in 6th place with 11 points, 5 points adrift from the league leaders Inter and Lazio who share the top-spot with 16 points each.

Even more concerning is that the Italian tactician’s current form closely mirrors the run that led to Igor Tudor’s sacking from Juventus last season. Over the first six matches of their respective seasons, Tudor secured 12 points, one more than Spalletti’s current tally, while both managers recorded identical statistics of nine goals scored and five conceded.

Hence, Giovanni Albanse of La Gazzetta dello Sport highlights several key challenges that coach Luciano Spalletti is currently faced with whilst at the helm of Juventus this season.

A substandard attack

When Juventus brought back Frenchman Randal Kolo Muani into the squad this summer, many expected the 27 year-old striker to replicate his form from his first spell in Italy in 2024-25, in which he amassed 8 goals and 1 assist in 16 games-played after arriving on a 6 month loan spell from PSG during the January transfer window.

However, the €41m transfer for the French international is yet to pay off as Kolo Muani has only managed to score 1 goal within the opening 6 games of the season.

Spalletti has tried to redesign the attacking line by allowing Kolo Muani to roam freely up-top, whilst Argentine Nico Gonzalez acts like a second striker through his cunning runs in-behind, however the former PSG forward has failed to hit the ground running as he continuously misfires within the final third of the pitch.

In addition, Nick Woltemade has also been very underwhelming since arriving on deadline day on loan from Newcastle as the 24 year-old German international has not amassed a single goal in 4 appearances for the Bianconeri in the Serie A thus far, clearly lacking the killer instict of a clinical goal-scorer in front of goal.

Lack of personality

Although several leaders are emerging within the squad such as Nico Gonzalez and central defender Gleison Bremer, it is safe to say that the squad still has a great deal of maturing to do.

The most recent draw against coach Fabio Pisacane’s side is Juventus’ 14th consecutive match under Luciano Spllaetti in which they have failed to win after having conceded first.

The inconsistency in performances and inability to manage key moments in matches indicates that they are perhaps not ready to compete for the scudetto and are unable keep up with the pace of the likes of Inter and Roma.

A very thin squad

Spalletti has his hands full while trying to manage a very compact fixture list with an extremely depleted squad as Turkish rising star Kenan Yildiz, skipper Manuel Locatelli, Frenchman Khephren Thuram, former Genoa forward Jeff Ekhator, and 29-year-old winger Jeremie Boga have all been held at bay in recent matches due to injuries.

The lack of depth and unavailability of key players has indeed decreased the quality of the squad and has made it difficult for the Italian tactician to break out of this sluggish run of form as Juventus have only recorded one win out of their last four fixtures in the Serie A.

It remains to be seen if Spalletti can find a way to inspire the Bianconeri and help them regain strength and confidence as they prepare to face Lazio at the Allianz stadium in a vital match within the race for a spot within next year’s Champions League.