Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Genoa

Come the end of tomorrow’s Serie A action, we will be sitting around wondering what the hell we’re going to do for the next two weeks. The first international break of the season is nearly upon, with boredom and last-minute transfer rumors set to take over the slice in our brains usually reserved for the games that Juventus play.

We at least have one more game before said boredom sets in.

And that game just so happens to be today.

What joy!

Or at least that’s the hope for us all.

It’s the first of Juventus’ two annual visits to the Luigi Ferraris. This time, they will be facing Genoa, a team that was hoping to not get relegated down to Serie B just a short time ago as Juventus were celebrating their sixth straight Scudetto triumph. It’s the second round of the 38-game Serie A schedule and comes afterr Juve opened their season with a convincing 3-0 win over Cagliari at Allianz Stadium.

Not bad.

From juventus.com’s match preview, we have these two little nuggets of information:

Juventus have won the first two league games in five of the last six seasons.

In 15 of the last 18 seasons, Juventus have won their first away game.

And from Max Allegri’s pre-match press conference on Friday, we have this little nugget of information, otherwise known as a “quote”:

“Tomorrow is a match we need to win. Playing at the Marassi is never straightforward and we’ve often found life tough there, no less than last season when we conceded three goals in 27 minutes.”

Juventus have history on their side. They also have a manager who is declaring their trip to the Luigi Ferraris essentially as a must-win kind of scenario. (Not exactly what you’re used to hearing in late-August, now is it?)

But knowing Juve’s recent history at the Marassi, I guess it’s not the worst thing in the world to be demanding three points and nothing else.

Or maybe that’s because we want Juventus to get three points whenever they take the field. Must be a pretty good reason as to why they’ve won the last six Serie A titles and racked up hundreds upon hundreds of points over that span.

Funny how that works...

MATCH INFO

Location: Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, italy

Kick-off time: 6 p.m. local time in Italy; 5 p.m. in the United Kingdom; 12 p.m. on the East Coast; 9 a.m. on the West Coast

STARTING LINEUPS

Juventus starting XI (4-2-3-1): Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Rugani, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Khedira, Pjanic; Cuadrado, Dybala, Mandzukic; Higuain

Genoa starting XI (3-4-3): Perin; Biraschi, Rossettini, Gentiletti; Lazovic, Bertolacci, Veloso, Laxalt; Pandev, Galabinov, Taarabt

WATCH IT

TV: BT Sport Extra (United Kingdom); Sky Sport 1 HD Italia (Italy)

Online/Mobile: fuboTV, beIN SPORTS CONNECT U.S.A. (United States); beIN SPORTS CONNECT Canada (Canada); SKY Go Italia (Italy)

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