Juventus head out on the road for the first time this season looking to pick up where they left off a week ago. In a way, I feel like I can essentially copy and paste from the previous two previews that I’ve written for Matchday 2 and things would pretty much seem like right on point. Why? That’s because Juventus won their season opener against Udinese a year ago by a 3-0 scoreline. And it’s because Juventus won their season opener against Sassuolo two years ago by, you guessed it, a 3-0 scoreline. So, just like the last two seasons, Juve enter the second match of the 2024-25 campaign coming off a 3-0 win.
The difference, of course, is that Max Allegri is not Juve’s manager anymore. Thiago Motta and the very encouraging first signs of Motta Ball very much are now at the helm, coming off a promising first impression. That’s why I will simply drop in the question I had entering Juve’s second game of the season a year ago — which, ironically, came against Thiago Motta and Bologna — right here: “So ... what’s next?”
For Juventus against Motta, it ended up being a relatively disappointing 1-1 draw even though we didn’t know at the time that Bologna would end up being one of the best teams in the league and quality for the Champions League. Now with Motta at the helm in Turin, Juventus head over to Verona to face one of the season-opening weekend’s biggest surprises at the Bentegodi for the second of two straight Monday nights with football to begin the new campaign. And it’s this same Hellas Verona side that absolutely dismantled Napoli and spoiled Antonio Conte’s weekend and return to Serie A, resulting in the former Juve manager describing his team’s performance like they “melted like snow in the sun.”
Obviously, that’s not what we want or hope to see from Juventus on Monday night. But as I type this and see Milan drop points the second straight weekend to open the season, the heightened sense that Juventus have to take advantage of a couple of favorable opponents to open the Motta era is very much there.
What we saw from Juventus in their season opener against Como was definitely encouraging and already had Motta’s imprint all over it. From the movement of the players, to the quick passing and switching of the field and everything in between, this was very much a team that has come out of the Allegri doldrums and look to have a new lease on life. Now they just have to try and do that for second week running and have plenty of good vibes going into the big showdown with Roma in Turin next weekend.
That’s what we’ve said the last couple of years. In both of those years, they’ve resulted in disappointing results in the second match of those respective seasons. And as Hellas Verona has shown in previous seasons and last weekend against Napoli, playing at the Bentigodi is not as straightforward as you might expect it to be even though they’re not loaded with talent or spending a ton of money. (Or, like in January of last season, having to sell off a lot of players due to financial issues.)
There’s also this little tidbit going into Monday night’s game: Juventus and Hellas Verona both have the chance to be the only Serie A club to win their first two games of the 2024-25 with a victory at the Bentegodi. The results have been, in a matter of a couple of words, all over the place through the first two rounds of action, and that means things could very well play into Motta’s favor going into the final match before the first international break.
I mean, it may only be after two matchdays, but “Juventus top of the table” and “Juventus two points ahead of Inter” certainly does have a nice ring to it. Now they just have to go out and try to play a whole lot like they did in their season opener — which, against a pesky club like Hellas Verona, is always going to be easier said than actually done.
I could go with the striker who was unlucky and missed a bevy of chances in Juventus’ season-opening win. I could go with the former Hellas Verona fullback who will be facing his former team in just his second Juventus game. I could go with the young Belgian winger who just shocked the hell out of all of us in his official debut on Monday night. But I will go with one of the few healthy midfielders Juventus actually has at the moment.
Hello, Douglas. Nice to see you!
Motta not going with Douglas Luiz in the first starting lineup of the season was a surprise to many, including myself. But, as we’ve come to know quickly about Motta (and as he reiterated during his post-match press conference), his starting lineups aren’t always going to fall in line with your thinking simply because he basis them on merit and how things go during training sessions throughout the week. So that means starting somebody like Samuel Mbangula who has no previous Serie A experience rather than Juve’s most expensive summer signing this year. But, with Thuram out until the international break, that opens the door for Douglas Luiz to make his own Serie A debut.
Also because there’s not really many other ways Motta can go in the midfield due to injuries and the already-limited depth that they have as they await to potential arrival of Teun Koopmeiners. In the small preseason sample that we got of Douglas Luiz, he certainly brings some things from a midfielder that we haven’t really seen from a Juventus midfielder in the last handful of years. Playing a little deeper as compared to the No. 10 spot really did look to suit him best, so I guess we can deem it a good thing that Kenan Yildiz is expected to man that spot after his big showing in last Monday’s season opener.
Douglas Luiz may not be the defensive hound that Thuram has shown to be during preseason and against Como, but if the 26-year-old Brazilian can find a way to impact the game on both ends of the field, then we will certainly be eagerly awaiting the return of Thuram to see what the two summer arrivals can do next to one another. For now, though, Douglas Luiz will certainly try to make a good first (start) impression just as Thuram did in the season opener. It would be another sign that Juve’s midfield remake is most definitely on the right track.
When: Monday, Aug. 26 2024.
Where: Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, Verona, Italy.
Official kickoff time: 8:45 p.m. in Italy and the Central European time zone, 7:45 p.m. in the United Kingdom, 2:45 p.m. Eastern time, 11:45 a.m. Pacific time.
Television: No channels available over the air in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom or Italy.
Online/Streaming: Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network (United States); fuboTV Canada (Canada); OneFootball.com (United Kingdom); DAZN Italy, 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.
Thiago Motta explains why he has decided to leave Douglas Luiz on the Juventus bench again and warns of the dangers presented by a Verona side that beat Napoli 3-0. It kicks off at the Stadio Bentegodi at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT). You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Cagliari-Como on the LIVEBLOG. Curiously, one of these two teams could be the only one with a 100 per cent record after two rounds, because they both won their opening fixtures 3-0. Verona crushed Antonio Conte’s Napoli at the Bentegodi, while Juve swept Como aside in Turin.
“This is certainly a different game, as Verona are a team who alternate a great deal, especially the first press, to prevent their opponents from building out from the back,” Thiago Motta told DAZN. “They also defend well with a low block, so we must understand these moments and not allow them to get comfortable. We have to play our football without losing balance.”
Danilo is again not fully fit, so 21-year-old NextGen talent Nicolò Savona gets his first senior start, with Samuel Mbangula again picked after scoring on his debut. With Khephren Thuram and Tim Weah injured, it was assumed that Douglas Luiz would get his first start since the big move from Aston Villa. Instead, he is on the bench once again, with Nicolò Fagioli chosen in the middle of the park.
“Like all the others, Douglas Luiz is an important player. As far as I am concerned, we have only players who play and those who will play the next games,” added Thiago Motta. “I pay a great deal of attention to them, because I am convinced they can raise the level of the team and set the example. Today we start with Locatelli and Fagioli, who know each other very well and know what we need. I am sure that if he comes on in the second half, Douglas will give us a big hand.”
Hellas Verona and Juventus have named their starting line-ups for Monday’s clash at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi. Both 3-0 winners on Serie A's opening matchday, Hellas Verona and Juventus aim to continue in the same vein on Monday, when they meet at Stadio Bentegodi. After Verona stunned Napoli with a superb second-half display, new-look Juve crushed newly-promoted Como in their first game under Thiago Motta. Making the most of a relatively kind start to the fixture list, Juventus came flying out of the blocks last weekend, as they began their latest quest to regain the Scudetto in convincing style.
Surprise debutant Samuel Mbangula fired the Bianconeri in front against Como, before Timothy Weah added a second goal just before the break, and Andrea Cambiaso's stoppage-time strike served as the cherry on top of the icing for new boss Thiago Motta. Still busy in the transfer market as Juve's post-Max Allegri overhaul continues, the Turin side showed early signs of improvement, recording the highest passing accuracy on Serie A's opening matchday (92%) and being the only team not to face a single shot on target. Motta was hired to bring both proactive football and some silverware back to Italy's most successful club, after his Bologna team surprisingly secured Champions League qualification by keeping a number of clean sheets.
His new-look squad may have impressed on opening night, but Juve must surely set about fixing a dismal away record if they are to challenge for the title: they have failed to win any of their last eight league games on the road, which is the club's worst such run since 1999. They have, though, won four of their last five against Hellas Verona, keeping a clean sheet in each victory - and Motta's men will be fired up to continue that trend. Nonetheless, Hellas have lost only one of their last 10 Serie A meetings with Juve at the Bentegodi, where they enjoyed a brilliant beginning to the 2024-25 season.
Having previously exited the Coppa Italia on home turf to Cesena, Verona's clash with Antonio Conte-led Napoli held some trepidation, but after keeping the game goalless until half time they burst into life after the break. Continuing a good recent record in the transfer market, Dailon Livramento and Daniel Mosquera both scored on their league debut, with the latter bagging a brace to send the Partenopei packing. After taking over from Lazio-bound Marco Baroni earlier this summer, Paolo Zanetti is overseeing the Scaligeri's attempt to secure a sixth straight year in the top flight, and such a result will help win over sceptical fans. Including the tail end of last season, Verona are now unbeaten in three matches - equalling their best run since April 2023 - but they will be truly put to the test on Monday evening.
After both started last week's win over Como, Timothy Weah and Khephren Thuram succumbed to injuries and will not be involved in Verona, while Arkadiusz Milik is still sidelined by a knee problem. In any case, the latter is part of a group expected to leave Juventus before the transfer window slides shut, alongside Tiago Djalo, Filip Kostic, Arthur and Federico Chiesa. Thuram's fellow new boys Douglas Luiz, Michele Di Gregorio and ex-Verona full-back Juan Cabal should all start on Monday, but more recent arrivals Nico Gonzalez and Francisco Conceicao will not be available. Following his debut goal against Como, youth graduate Samuel Mbangula could become the first player to score in both of his first two league appearances for Juve since Carlos Tevez in August 2013. Meanwhile, Verona must make at least one change to a winning side, as Suat Serdar suffered a thigh injury last week - French midfielder Reda Belahyane is his likeliest replacement.
Paolo Zanetti may also decide to switch things around up front, after Daniel Mosquera scored twice as a substitute; Benfica loanee Casper Tengstedt could therefore make way. Another forward, long-term absentee Juan Manuel Cruz, is the only other man missing for the hosts. Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:Montipo; Tchatchoua, Coppola, Dawidowicz, Frese; Belahyane, Duda; Livramento, Kastanos, Lazovic; Mosquera. Juventus possible starting lineup:Di Gregorio; Savona, Gatti, Bremer, Cabal; Locatelli, Luiz; Cambiaso, Yildiz, Mbangoula; Vlahovic. There is early evidence that Juventus will be more coherent under Thiago Motta, so they should prove a much tougher nut to crack than Verona's opening opponents, an ailing Napoli side. Juve look revived, so with Dusan Vlahovic up front and plenty of pace out wide, they can exploit any weaknesses in the hosts' defence. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here. Hellas Verona will host Juventus in a Matchday 2 clash of the 2024/2025 Serie A season. Check out how to watch the game on TV or stream it live in your country right here. Hellas Verona are set to receive Juventus in a highly anticipated Matchday 2 showdown of the 2024/2025 Serie A season. As excitement builds, fans can find out all the essential details on how to watch the game live, whether on TV or through online streaming options available in your country.
[Watch Hellas Verona vs Juventus in the USA on Paramount+]
Serie A Matchday 2 concludes with a high-stakes clash that could determine the early frontrunners in the league. Both Juventus and Hellas Verona have the opportunity to claim sole leadership, as no other team managed to win their first two matches. A victory for either side would put them atop the standings with a perfect six points. Juventus enter the matchup with momentum, having secured a convincing 3-0 win over Como 1907, reaffirming their status as title contenders. On the other hand, Hellas Verona shocked the league with a 3-0 victory over Napoli in their opener, showcasing their potential. This matchup promises to be a compelling battle between a perennial powerhouse and a team looking to build on a strong start. While the transfer market is in full motion at the moment, Juventus must shift their focus to the pitch once again, as they have an interesting test ahead. Fresh from their stunning 3-0 win over Napoli last weekend, Hellas Verona will host Thiago Motta’s men at the Stadio Bentegodi this evening in the closing curtain of Serie A round 2. The Turin-based giants also found joy in the opening fixture, beating Como in the same result. Therefore, Motta will be looking to confirm his team’s positive start by winning on the road at the first time of asking. So how will the Italo-Brazilian line up his men?
According to Sky Sport Italia, the Juventus manager will once again opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Kenan Yildiz starting behind Dusan Vlahovic. With Timothy Weah out with an injury, Andrea Cambiaso will play in a more advanced role as a right winger, similar to the second half against Como. Samuel Mbangula will start on the left following his marvelous debut. In the middle of the park, Douglas Luiz will make his full debut alongside Manuel Locatelli, as Khephren Thuram sustained a knock last week. Gleison Bremer and Federico Gatti will preserve their roles in front of Michele De Gregorio, with Juan Cabal starting at left-back. Nicolo Savona will reportedly get the nod at right-back. La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting the same lineup, but gives Danilo a 40% chance to start instead of Savona who remains the favorite (60%). The Brazilian has overcome an injury scare to earn a call-up, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be fit enough to challenge for a starting role. Juventus Probable XI (4-2-3-1): Di Gregorio; Savona (Danilo), Gatti, Bremer, Cabal; Locatelli, Douglas Luiz; Cambiaso, Yildiz, Mbangula; Vlahovic
