Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Spezia

In previous seasons, we’ve talked about Juventus going for its fifth straight win when the fifth round of fixtures arrives on the schedule. It’s been part of the run Juve’s gone on for so many previous seasons. Good starts allow Juve to bank points and then have some room for error when it comes to some of the bigger fixtures that season has to offer.

This season, however, Juve enters their fifth game of the 2021-22 in a much different kind of way.

Tonight as Juventus plays Spezia at the Stadio Alberto Picco, Max Allegri’s squad is still very much searching for its first win of the season. That’s ... less than ideal. But that’s what’s happened through the first four games of this new season under Allegri, one that has certainly gone far from what even he has envisioned. So, when things kick off in a matter of minutes, it will be a 14th-place Spezia against a Juventus team that is ... below tonight’s hosts in the table.

That, too, is less than ideal.

So how do you correct this? Well, that’s rather obvious. Actually seeing Juventus do it, knowing full well they’ve blown a lead in three of their first four Serie A fixtures this season, is something that is much harder to actually see through.

And thus the reason — amongst other reasons — why Juve currently sits in 18th place.

OK, so looking at the Serie A table for long periods of time at this point of the season is probably bad for your health. How many times have we seen a team that was recently promoted start off well, maybe push for the top six in the first month or two of the season, and then see them in the bottom portion of the table come December or January? It happens all the time, and it doesn’t matter what else is happening around them.

Maybe today will be the day that Juventus gets its first win of the season. That sure would be nice just for the simple matter of having to not talk about not having a win anymore.

I know, that’s hard to ask for sometimes when it comes to Juve. But maybe, just maybe, they won’t leave us wanting to bash our heads through the living room wall this time around.

MATCH INFO

When: Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021.

Where: Stadio Alberto Picco, La Spezia, Italy.

Official kickoff time: 6:30 p.m. local time in Italy and across Europe; 5:30 p.m. in the United Kingdom; 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time; 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time.

STARTING LINEUPS

Juventus starting XI (4-3-3?): Szczesny; Danilo, de Ligt, Bonucci, De Sciglio; McKennie, Bentancur, Rabiot; Chiesa, Dybala, Kean.

Juventus bench: Perin, Pinsoglio, Alex Sandro, Pellegrini, Rugani, Ramsey, Cuadrado, Bernardeschi, Locatelli, Morata, Kulusevski.

Spezia starting XI (4-2-3-1): Zoet; Amian, Nikolaou, Hristov, Bastoni; Ferrer, Bourabia; Verde, Maggiore, Gyasi; Antiste.

HOW TO WATCH

Television: BT Sport 1 (United Kingdom).

Online/mobile: Paramount+ (United States); 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.