Weston McKennie Embraces Trequartista Role In Juventus Set-Up Ahead Of Sassuolo

Juventus head to Sassuolo on 6 January targeting three vital Serie A points, with Weston McKennie enjoying an advanced role and Luciano Spalletti's team arriving on a four-match unbeaten run in the league, though a 1-1 draw with Lecce in their last outing checked some of their recent momentum.

That result against Lecce ended a sequence of three consecutive Serie A victories for Juventus, who are fourth in the table before facing Sassuolo, and McKennie drew them level in that match after Jonathan David missed a second-half penalty that would have given Juventus a fourth straight league win.

Juventus sit 10 points clear of Sassuolo, who are 10th in Serie A with 23 points before this match, and Sassuolo have claimed just one victory in their previous

seven league fixtures, a 3-1 success against struggling Fiorentina, while drawing three of their last four games and losing once.

Sassuolo's recent run also includes a 2-2 home draw against second-place AC Milan, adding weight to the sense that the hosts can trouble strong opponents, while Juventus have drawn more matches than any club in Europe's top five leagues since the start of 2024-25, sharing the points 22 times.

McKennie has become an important attacking midfielder under Spalletti during this period, and the United States international welcomes the demands of that position in the current Juventus system, believing the squad have the correct attitude to react quickly after dropping points and to stay close to Serie A's frontrunners.

For me, it's not a new position, McKennie said. I'm at the manager's and the team's disposal, and I try to give 100% in every role. I like playing as a trequartista because you can both defend and attack.

You feel a bit down [after a result like the one against Lecce], a bit frustrated, but you can't dwell on missed chances. You have to keep moving forward. The team played a good match; what was missing was the final pass. Anyone can miss a penalty. That's footballyou have to move forward and focus on the next game.

Our next match, a trip to face Sassuolo pic.twitter.com/WPJciSkGXCJuventusFC (@juventusfcen) January 4, 2026

Juventus vs Sassuolo: players to watch and passing statistics

Sassuolo midfielder Kristian Thorstvedt offers a major goal threat before Juventus visit, with 17 league goals across Serie A and Serie B since joining the club in 2022-23, 10 strikes in the top flight and seven in the second tier, a record matched by only three other foreign midfielders.

Alongside Thorstvedt in that 15-plus league goals group are Hakan Calhanoglu, Teun Koopmeiners and Nikola Vlasic, and the Norwegian could score in consecutive Serie A matches for only the second time, having last done so in November 2023, when Thorstvedt netted against Torino and Salernitana.

For Juventus, Manuel Locatelli returns to a former home, having scored six goals and provided 11 assists in 96 Serie A appearances for Sassuolo, and Locatelli's first of two league games with both a goal and an assist came for the Neroverdi in April 2019 against Chievo.

Locatelli also ranks among Serie A's most reliable passers this season, one of only two players with more than 1,000 successful passes, recording 1,078 so far, which leaves the Juventus midfielder just behind Luka Modric, who has completed 1,082 passes in the current campaign.

Juventus vs Sassuolo: historical record, Epiphany trends and prediction

Recent head-to-head results between these sides are balanced, with Juventus winning three and losing three of the last six meetings with Sassuolo, after previously enjoying a dominant spell in which Juventus took nine victories and two draws across 11 Serie A clashes against the same opponents.

Sassuolo have enjoyed home comfort lately against Juventus, winning the last two Serie A matches between the teams at MAPEI Stadium, a sharp change from the preceding nine home league games versus the Bianconeri, when Sassuolo collected only five points from one win, two draws and six defeats.

Sassuolo also have a solid record on Epiphany, staying unbeaten in five of seven Serie A fixtures on 6 January, with three wins and two draws, and winning 1-0 at home to Fiorentina in 2024, although Sassuolo have never managed to claim back-to-back league victories on this specific date.

Juventus generally prosper on Epiphany Day, having gone six Serie A matches without defeat on 6 January, with four wins and two draws, conceding only three goals and keeping three clean sheets in that span, while Juventus' most recent league loss on that date came in 2013.

OPTA model projections make Juventus favourites for this contest, assigning a 52.7% win probability to the visitors, against 23.4% for Sassuolo and a 23.9% chance of a draw, figures that mirror league position, recent form and the balance of the historical head-to-head record.

Outcome	OPTA win probability
Sassuolo win	23.4%
Draw	23.9%
Juventus win	52.7%

With Juventus seeking to maintain pressure near the top, and Sassuolo trying to halt an uneven run, the match brings together McKennie's attacking influence, Locatelli's return, Thorstvedt's scoring threat and contrasting Epiphany records, underlining why the visitors enter as favourites yet face genuine resistance.