With all the preseason traveling and midweek trips to meet the Pope out of the way, now it's time for Antonio Conte to try and win his first trophy of the season. In the build up to Juventus' Supercoppa clash against Lazio, the third-year manager has named a 27-man squad — 15 of those players traveling from Vinovo while the internationals meet up with the team in Rome — that will take part in the match at the Stadio Olimpico.
The full list, courtesy of Juventus' official website, is as follows:
1 Buffon
3 Chiellini
4 Caceres
5 Ogbonna
6 Pogba
7 Pepe
8 Marchisio
9 Vucinic
10 Tevez
11 De Ceglie
12 Giovinco
13 Peluso
14 Llorente
15 Barzagli
16 Motta
17 Marrone
19 Bonucci
20 Padoin
21 Pirlo
22 Asamoah
23 Vidal
26 Lichtsteiner
27 Quagliarella
30 Storari
32 Matri
33 Isla
34 Rubinho
You'll notice a certain "7 Pepe" included in the match day squad for the first time in a long, long amount of time. Do I expect Simone Pepe to play any kind of part in the Supercoppa on Sunday? Not really. But for a guy who has been working for so long to finally get back on the field — he returned to training with the full squad this week — it's a nice reward and another step in the recovery process for a player that Conte does really value. And I think it's safe to say he's excited to be back traveling with his teammates.
147 - Simone Pepe made 147 crosses in the Serie A 2011-12, the most among Juventus players, the fourth-most in the league. Back.
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) August 15, 2013
Also of not is that "15 Barzagli," Andrea Barzagli, is included in the squad despite the fact he has barely played this preseason because of injury and most recently pulled out of Italy's friendly against Argentina...
Barzagli is doubtful for Super Cup match against Lazio on Sunday, Caceres is the favorite over Ogbonna to replace him (via GdS)
— David Amoyal (@DavidAmoyal) August 15, 2013
So there's another thing to keep an eye on entering Sunday's match against Lazio. Based on how Caceres has looked in the preseason thus far, he should be the one to get the start on the right side of the three-man defense. And at the same time, Juventus will be given the opportunity to allow Barzagli to rest as much as he possibly needs — a smart move considering how incredibly important he has been the past two Scudetto-winning seasons.