Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Fiorentina

There are 90 minutes to go before the next international break. And I don’t know about you guys and gals, but I personally would not like to be looking at Juventus sitting in 10th place in the Serie A table for the following two weeks after they go out and play those 90 minutes.

Sounds like a situation to avoid, right?

Here we sit in the first weekend of November and Juventus, much deservedly so based on how much of this season has gone, sits smack dab in the middle of the league table entering tonight’s game against Fiorentina. Yes, the same Fiorentina that is, to the surprise of pretty much everybody, three points ahead of Juventus in the standings as we get ready for the next international break.

That, to many, makes this a much more interesting game than it almost always is to begin with. And with Fiorentina in a much different place than they were a year ago or even the last time they played against Juventus, this match has suddenly become a much different proposition than what appeared to be a relatively easy win on paper a year ago. (Hint: neither game against Fiorentina actually was ... or anything close to it.)

Juventus, still technically in ritiro until after the Fiorentina game, will be looking to build off the 4-2 win over Zenit St. Petersburg midweek to seal up a spot in the Champions League Round of 16. It was far from what we saw against Hellas Verona last weekend, a game in which sent Juve into ritiro in the first place and was the latest example of just how much work still needs to be done to make this club a title contender.

Max Allegri has spoken about how each domestic fixture Juventus has from here on out is a must-win kind of situation. There’s only one way to show that you are able to take the manager’s words to heart — and that’s to go out and win the first game after he’s said such a thing. Today’s the day to try and do just that.

MATCH INFO

When: Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.

Where: Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy.

Official kickoff time: 6 p.m. local time in Italy and across Europe; 5 p.m. in the United Kingdom; 1 p.m. Eastern Time; 10 a.m. Pacific Time.

STARTING LINEUPS

Juventus starting XI (4-4-2): Perin; Danilo, Rugani, De Ligt, Alex Sandro; Chiesa, McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot; Dybala, Morata.

Juventus bench: Pinsoglio, Israel, Cuadrado, Pellegrini, Bonucci, Chiellini, Arthur, Ramsey, Bernardeschi, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Kaio Jorge.

Fiorentina starting XI (4-3-3): Terracciano; Odriozola, Milenkovic, Martinez, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Torreira, Castrovilli; Callejon, Vlahovic, Saponara.

Fiorentina bench: Rosati, Cerofolini, Terzic, Venuti, Nastasic, Igor, Maleh, Benassi, Duncan, Amrabat, Egharevba, Sottil

HOW TO WATCH

Television: BT Sport 2 (United Kingdom).

Online/mobile: Paramount+ (United States); DAZN (Canada); BTSport.com, BT Sport App (United Kingdom); DAZN (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.