Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Bologna

And, after three days of arguing about Max Allegri, we are back to Serie A.

Exciting, right?

OK, so facing one of the three teams currently in the relegation zone isn’t exactly the best way to get your complete interest back in Juventus in the aftermath of Wednesday night’s second-half meltdown in the Champions League. Juventus playing Bologna isn’t going to be a headline-grabbing encounter because of who the two teams are. It’s a lot like the last league fixture Juventus played — the runaway leaders against a club that is hoping that they will still be a part of the Serie A landscape a couple of months from now.

But, because of what happened on Wednesday night in Spain, the simple matter of what the hell Juventus will look like is why this game is interesting. At least a little bit.

Will Juve just look a lot like the team that couldn’t do a damn thing in the second half against Atlético Madrid?

Will Juve look like a team that is pissed off as all hell and will come out and score 27 goals before halftime because they’re got to let off some steam?

Will Juve go through the motions and put out an uninspiring effort in a 1-0 win because the players know they’ve got a 13-point lead entering the day?

We don’t know what Juventus will show up at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara today. But we do know that Juve are a wounded team because of what happened the last time they took the field. Bologna is not Atlético Madrid or anything close to it, and maybe that’s a good thing. Or maybe that’s a bad thing. I don’t really know how to gauge where this team is at this point because they’ve been far from exceptional the last few months.

I don’t know about you guys, but I want to see Pissed Off Juventus. I don’t want to see Going Through the Motions Juventus or Champions League Disappointment Hangover Juventus.

It really doesn’t matter how much better Bologna may be playing since Super Pippo was relieved of his duties on the sidelines. If there was ever a game to take out some anger about what happened against Atlético Madrid, this one is it.

MATCH INFO

When: Sunday, Feb. 23, 2019

Where: Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Bologna, Italy

Official kickoff time: 3 p.m. local time in Italy and around Europe; 2 p.m. in the United Kingdom; 9 a.m. Eastern Time; 6 a.m. Pacific Time

STARTING LINEUPS

Juventus starting XI (4-3-3/4-4-2): Perin; De Sciglio, Bonucci, Rugani, Alex Sandro; Bernardeschi, Bentancur, Matuidi; Cancelo, Mandzukic, Ronaldo

Juventus bench: Szczesny, Pinsoglio, Chiellini, Caceres, Barzagli, Spinazzola, Pjanic, Dybala, Kean

Bologna starting XI (4-3-3): Skorupski; Mbaye, Danilo, Helander, Dijks; Poli, Pulgar, Soriano; Edera, Santander, Sansone

HOW TO WATCH

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

Online/mobile: ESPN+ (United States); DAZN (Canada); Eleven Sports 2 UK (United Kingdom); 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.

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.