Juventus weighs replacing Spalletti as Paulo Sousa and Stefano Pioli emerge as options

A third defeat and a fragile position

Juventus lost 2-0 at Genoa on Wednesday, 28 October, their third league defeat under Luciano Spalletti in nine rounds. Tommaso Baldanzi was at the centre of the match, assisting Kingsley Ehizibue in the 12th minute and scoring himself in the 28th after a mistake by Kalulu. The 67-year-old Spalletti has been under growing pressure since a 3-0 home defeat by Lazio in mid-October. Juventus have 14 points from nine rounds and have yet to face several of the league's strongest sides, including Inter, Roma and Napoli.

Corriere dello Sport names the candidates

Corriere dello Sport reports that Juventus is weighing a change of coach and has drawn up a short list of successors. Paulo Sousa and Stefano Pioli are described as the favourites. Sousa, a 56-year-old Portuguese coach, has been without a club since leaving Al Ahli in June, and he previously coached Salernitana and Fiorentina in Italy. As a player he wore the Juventus shirt between 1994 and 1996 and won the Champions League with the club, and he has also led the Poland national team. Pioli, 61, has been without a club since Fiorentina dismissed him, and the paper points to his long Serie A experience as both player and coach. One further Italian publication also names Didier Deschamps as a possible successor.

Spalletti's position and the Napoli match

Corriere dello Sport reportedly says Spalletti is not at immediate risk of losing his job, but that two names are being considered in the background. The paper reportedly sees him needing to last until January, and another heavy defeat in the next round against Napoli would make his position untenable even for a board that has so far defended him. Spalletti won the Serie A title with Napoli in 2022/23, a record the reports say sits uneasily with Juventus's current results. The Napoli match is the next fixture for Juventus at home.

Standings and next steps

The sources disagree on Juventus's standing. SIC places the club seventh, nine points behind Inter and Lazio, while SAPO and Polsat Sport put it eighth and 11 points behind Inter Milan. Corriere dello Sport also rules out a return for Antonio Conte, a free agent, saying neither the financial conditions nor the club's intentions point that way. The reports describe deliberation rather than a decision, with the options still open. The outcome is expected to depend heavily on the Napoli match.