Allianz Stadium is the venue as Juventus and Roma go head-to-head in a mouth-watering Serie A showdown on Saturday evening. The stage’s been set for one of the most highly anticipated fixtures on the early Serie A calendar.
Massimiliano Allegri’s bid to better last season’s abysmal fourth-place finish took a massive step backward on matchday two. Everyone thought Juventus were on the right path to mount a genuine title challenge when they thrashed Sassuolo 3-0 on the opening weekend. However, their celebrations were short-lived, as Sampdoria held them to a tepid scoreless draw at Luigi Ferraris last weekend.
Now keen to return to winning ways against one of the best-performing teams in Italy, Juventus are gearing up for a blockbuster home clash against Roma. Jose Mourinho looks to have re-adopted his old habits. Alongside Inter and Napoli, the Giallorossi are the only remaining Serie A side to have won both opening league outings. Yet, both victories yielded an identical 1-1 scoreline.
With Mourinho seemingly back to his original gameplan of preserving a clean sheet at all costs, Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic could have a long day. That’s at least unless marquee summer signing Angel Di Maria recovers in time, which looks to be a long shot at this point.
Match Preview
Juventus
Juventus have historically enjoyed a fair amount of success against Roma. Against no team do the record-time Italian champions have more top-flight wins than against the Giallorossi (85), including victories in their last three Serie A encounters.
On top of that, Juventus boast a formidable H2H record at the Allianz Stadium. Since switching to the new venue in 2011, the Bianconeri have picked up ten triumphs in 11 league games versus Roma in Turin, except for a 3-1 defeat in August 2020.
With the history books firmly on Juve’s side, Allegri’s men should feel safe and sound. But there is another piece of history the Bianconeri fans may not relish as much. Not since the 2019/20 season have Juventus won their opening two games of a new Serie A campaign, making this task somewhat eluding.
Roma
Despite claiming a brace of single-goal margin wins over Salernitana and Cremonese in the opening two Serie A rounds, the upcoming trip to Turin is an entirely different type of challenge. Yet, there’s a silver lining for Roma, as they’ve won their last two away league matches without conceding.
Replicating that feat at the Allianz Stadium would see the Giallorossi string together three consecutive Serie A away victories ‘to nil’ for the first time since August 2018. However, Roma have lost six of their last seven league matches at this venue without scoring (W1), with five defeats in that span coming by a narrow 1-0 scoreline.
After injuring his shoulder against Cremonese last time out, star forward Nicolo Zaniolo will not be in the mix. His absence is unlikely to help Roma overcome their scoring issues that have seen them net one goal or fewer in nine of their ten previous competitive games, last season included.
Team News
Juventus are dealing with a mouting injury list ahead of this fixture. First-choice goalkeeer Wojciech Szczesny, French midfielder Paul Pogba, winger Federico Chiesa and Brazilian starlet Kaio Jorge are ruled out with injuries. There’s still a glimmer of hope that Leonardo Bonucci and Di Maria could make the matchday squad.
As for Roma, former Juventus talisman Paulo Dybala is bracing himself for an emotional return to Turin, where he spent an illustrious seven years of his playing career. But Mourinho won’t be able to call upon the services of the abovementioend Zaniolo and summer acquisition Georginio Wijnaldum, as both are out with injuries.
Juventus vs Roma Potential Line-ups
Juventus (4-3-3): Mattia Perin, Mattia De Sciglio, Leonardo Bonucci, Gleison Bremer, Alex Sandro, Weston McKennie, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Moise Kean, Dusan Vlahovic, Filip Kostic.
Roma (3-4-2-1): Rui Patricio, Gianluca Mancini, Chris Smalling, Roger Ibanez, Rick Karsdorp, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Bryan Cristante, Leonardo Spinazzola, Paulo Dybala, Stephan El Shaarawy, Tammy Abraham.