Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Roma

For the first time all season, we can say that this night will be a big one for Juventus.

Not just because of the opponent. Not just because of who’s coming back to Turin for the first time since his emotional farewell at the end of the 2021-22 season. Not just because it’s a chance to pick up three important points early in the season. It’s really all of the above.

This is a big game in the third round of the new season. And most important of all, Juventus can either put the struggles from earlier this week behind them. Or, with their former No. 10 and vice captain lining up against them in a Roma jersey, they can extend the struggles another game and go into the next few weeks where there will be little time to rest with a whole lot of questions still unanswered.

Tonight’s game against Roma is a chance to do something right as compared to what happened just a few days ago when Juve couldn’t do much of anything right against Sampdoria. The result was reflective of the performance Juve put out there, and getting a point was probably more than they deserved.

So now ... let’s see what happens.

This could end up being a much-needed pick-me-up after the mess that was the scoreless draw against Sampdoria. Or this could be the thing that only extends the worries that is currently surrounding this team. (Even though Max Allegri is not going to be the one who ultimately comes out and says that there are things wrong.)

Let’s just hope it’s more of the second part than the first part. Because if it’s something that ends up looking a lot like Monday night’s performance ... Lord help us all.

MATCH INFO

When: Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022.

Where: Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy.

Official kickoff time: 6:30 p.m. local time in Italy and around 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; De Sciglio, Danilo, Bremer, Alex Sandro; Miretti, Locatelli, Rabiot; Cuadrado, Vlahovic, Kostic.

Juventus bench: Perin, Pinsoglio, Gatti, Rugani, McKennie, Rovella, Zakaria, Milik, Kean, Soulé.

Roma starting XI (3-4-2-1): Rui Patricio; Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez; Karsdorp, Cristante, Matic, Spinazzola; Dybala, Pellegrini; Abraham.

HOW TO WATCH

Television: BT Sport 2 (United Kingdom).

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