Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Barcelona

This is not meant as any kind of shade to Cesena or Monza, but Juventus’ third friendly of the summer is about to be a little bit more of a challenge as compared to the first two. Say what you want about the current state of Barcelona — and it’s not great based on who just left the club! — but what will kick off in a short amount of time is something Max Allegri 2.0 hasn’t seen just yet.

Thus the reason why it’s a friendly that’s actually intriguing.

That second half of the Trofeo Gamper between Juventus and Barcelona — the first half was, uh, not great — will give Allegri 2.0 its toughest test yet. Sure, it’s a friendly and the results aren’t that important in the grand scheme of things. But the thing that Allegri has going for him this weekend as opposed to the previous two weekends is the simple fact that he’s squad a full squad available to him at long last.

Well, not full full since there’s a certain No. 10 who just returned to training back in Turin, but it’s an almost-full squad — and that’s pretty damn cool.

So now, in earnest, we can see what Allegri might have in store for this team. We won’t for sure until the games actually count, but this will be a test and a game of intrigue simply because we won’t see a starting lineup filled with Under-23 players or senior squad reserves.

Hopefully it goes OK. And if it doesn’t, then hey it’s just a friendly! .... Right?

MATCH INFO

When: Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021

Where: Estadi Johan Cruyff, Barcelona, Spain

Official kickoff time: 9:30 p.m. local time in Spain and across Europe; 8:30 p.m. in the United Kingdom; 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time; 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time

STARTING LINEUPS

Juventus starting XI (4-4-2? 4-3-3?): Szczesny; De Sciglio, de Ligt, Rugani, Alex Sandro; Cuadrado, Ramsey, Bentancur, Bernardeschi; Morata, Ronaldo

Juventus bench: Perin, Pinsoglio, Chiellini, Danilo, McKennie, Pellegrini, Bonucci, Chiesa, Kulusevski, Ranocchia, De Winter, Marques

Barcelona starting XI (4-3-3): Neto; Dest, Pique, Araujo, Alba; Roberto, Busquets, Demir; Griezmann, Braithwaite, Depay

HOW TO WATCH

Television: Premier Sports 1 (United Kingdom); Sky Sport Uno, Sky Sport Calcio (Italy)

Online/mobile: ESPN+, ESPN app (United States); Premier Player HD (United Kingdom); Sky Go Italia, NOW TV (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.