Juventus name depleted 20-man squad for Lecce as nine ruled out through injury

Spalletti forced into a threadbare squad for Sunday's trip to the Stadio Via del Mare

Juventus travel to Lecce on Sunday for a 17.00 GMT (18.00 local time) kick-off at the Stadio Via del Mare, but they do so with a squad gutted by injuries. Manager Luciano Spalletti has named just a 20-man party, with nine first-team players unavailable for selection.

A crisis brewing since September

The Bianconeri are in crisis after failing to register a Serie A victory since September 20, when they beat Atalanta. They have since scraped a 1-1 draw away to Cagliari and been humiliated 3-0 at home by Lazio, while they were held to a 2-2 draw in Turin by Stade Rennais in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

That midweek European fixture proved a costly occasion. Both Zeki Celik and Nico Gonzalez sustained fresh injuries and are therefore ruled out for the Lecce match.

Full list of absentees

Juve were already missing Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram, Jeff Ekhator, Manuel Locatelli and Kamil Grabara. Arkadiusz Milik has been out for so long that he was removed from the Serie A list entirely.

The 20-man squad travelling to Lecce

Spalletti's available options are as follows: Bremer, Gatti, Kelly, Koopmeiners, Kolo Muani, Zhegrova, Douglas Luiz, Boga, Kalulu, Alajbegovic, Cambiaso, McKennie, Pinsoglio, Rugani, Vicario, Lucumi, Woltemade, Sarr, Cabal, Neto.

With such a thin group and no league win in over a month, all eyes will be on whether the Bianconeri can finally arrest their slump against a Lecce side looking to profit from their rivals' misfortune.