Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Sassuolo

For two weeks we’ve been forced to wait until the next Juventus game. Those two weeks involved the newfangled UEFA Nations League, which I still need to have fully explained to me before it’s too late.

But now, after 15 days of waiting following their win over Parma at the Tardini, Juventus is back.

And no matter how much stress this damn club may cause us to have, thank goodness that Juventus is back.

It’s a top-of-the-table matchup between a club we expected to be there and a club that nobody really expected to be sitting in second place after the first three games of the 2018-19 season. That’s the beauty of the opening weeks, though, isn’t it? Juventus can be a perfect 3 for 3 to begin the season and the closest club to them in the standings is ... Sassuolo?! Yes, Sassuolo. The same Sassuolo that will be the latest team to try and hand Juventus a loss this season.

Allianz Stadium, deprived of football ever since Juve’s 2-0 win over Lazio late last month, is now back in action. Same goes for Juventus as a whole — a very nice development knowing that Italy didn’t exactly light things up during the international break.

So here’s to hoping that Cristiano Ronaldo can finally get on the scoresheet after his first three games with Juventus were probably filled with frustration galore.

Here’s to hoping that Emre Can’s first start in a Juventus shirt goes as well as the substitute appearances he’s been making off the bench during the first month of the season.

And here’s to hoping that a Miralem Pjanic-less midfield isn’t so devoid of creativity that it becomes a black hole of death that doesn’t end up doing much at all over the course of these 90 minutes or so.

Here’s to good times ahead at Allianz Stadium, right, folks?

MATCH INFO

When: Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018

Where: Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy

Official kickoff time: 3 p.m. local time in Italy and across Europe; 2 p.m. in the United Kingdom; 9 a.m. on the East Coast; 6 a.m. on the West Coast

STARTING LINEUPS

Juventus starting XI (4-3-3): Szczesny; De Sciglio Cancelo, Bonucci, Benatia, Alex Sandro; Emre Can, Khedira, Matuidi; Dybala, Mandzukic, Cristiano Ronaldo

Juventus bench: Perin, Pinsoglio, Chiellini, Cancelo, Rugani, Pjanic, Bentancur, D. Costa, Cuadrado, Kean, Bernardeschi

Sassuolo starting XI (4-3-3): Consigli; Lirola, Marlon, Ferrari, Rogerio; Duncan, Locatelli, Bourabia; Berardi, Boateng, Djuricic

HOW TO WATCH

Television: RAI Italia America (United States); TLN, RAI Italia America (Canada); Eleven Sports 2 UK (United Kingdom); Sky Calcio 2, Sky Supercalcio HD, Sky Sport Serie A (Italy)

Online/mobile: ESPN+ (United States); DAZN (Canada); Sky Go Italia (Italy)

Other live viewing options can be found here, and as always, you can also follow along with us live and all the stupid things we say on Twitter. If you haven’t already, join the community on Black & White & Read All Over, and join in the discussion below.

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