Juventus will be looking to extend their 100% start in Serie A against Roma this evening at the Allianz Stadium. This is the team that Thiago Motta has chosen to pick up another three points.
It’s a big early test for a Juventus squad that has delivered plenty of good vibes through the first two matches of the new season.
In a way, I’m thinking that Juventus manager Thiago Motta very much likes the fact that he has such an important early-season matchup after two impressive wins to open the new campaign. During his short time in Turin, Motta has proven to be analytical when it comes to how he both views the game and talks about it, with a new-age approach mixed in with the mind of a former midfield general.
Sunday will be that test.
Yes, a test even with Roma very much struggling and not having even close to the amount of success that Motta and Juventus have had through the first two matchdays of the new campaign.
Roma won’t likely be the passive, über-conservative squad that they were the last time they made the trip to Turin with Mourinho at the helm. Not with those attacking options and De Rossi’s mindset as manager. But what Juventus has shown in their first two matches of the season must continue on Sunday — when they’ve been able to get control of things and dictate tempo and create chances with their passing and movement.
That’s something we haven’t seen from Juventus the last few years. Through the first two matchdays, no team in Serie A have completed more passes than Juventus. No team has a higher passing completion percentage than Juventus. Sure, they’re not creating the sheer volume of shots as other clubs, but Motta’s squad have been clinical when getting those chances.
It has all added up to an incredibly positive start to life with a new manager who has brought his own set of ideas and his own mindset to Turin in hopes of getting things back on track. And if he’s able to keep this train moving the way it has been the first couple of weeks of this new season when the first day of September arrives, then that’s going to be the biggest feather that Motta would have in his cap to date.
Juventus’ Line-Up
Juventus will be looking to extend their 100% start in Serie A against Roma this evening at the Allianz Stadium. This is the team that Thiago Motta has chosen to pick up another three points.
Juventus (4-3-3): Szczesny; Cambiaso, Bremer, Gatti, Sandro; Miretti, Locatelli, Fagioli; Mbangula, Vlahovic, Chiesa
Subs – Perin, Pinsoglio, Danilo, Kalulu, Rouhi, Koopmeiners, McKennie, Douglas Luiz, Conceicao, Gonzalez
A Look at the Opponent
Roma, on the other hand, has recorded just one point out of a possible six to start things out. Some of that has been thanks to unlucky moments — they hit the woodwork three times in last weekend’s 2-1 loss to Empoli — but the overall product from De Rossi’s squad has ... not been great.
You can choose to believe on that. Or you can just read what our blog friends who watch Roma every single weekend for the better part of nine months out of the year are saying about their favorite club right now. Over to you, CdT friendos ...
Shots hitting the woodwork, stupid penalties and expensive players failing to perform.The names and faces change, but it's clear that this club is cursed.
Yeah, that’s the post of a person who is already getting tired of what they’re seeing this season. Already this season, De Rossi’s squad has dropped points against a Cagliari side that just barely avoided relegation and saw Empoli claim their first-ever win at the Stadio Olimpico against Roma.
That’s far from encouraging when you are heading into a big matchup like Sunday night’s certainly is. And while more dropped points likely won’t put the nail in the coffin like it did for Jose Mourinho when Juve beat Roma at the Allianz last December, it definitely won’t have things sounding promising by any means.
But it’s very much a case of Roma having the talent that could make life difficult for Juventus even though the results haven’t necessarily been there so far.
The Roma Challenge
The one possible caveat about Juventus’ first 180 minutes of the 2024-25 season has been that the competition hasn’t been all that great. Como, for all of the spending and transfer activity they’ve done this summer, is still a newly-promoted side. Hellas Verona were a step up, but they’re never going to be more than a tricky mid-table side that can be tough at home. Roma, though, they can be a problem given the fact they’ve got all that talent in attack. And for a Juventus defense that has given up just one shot on goal so far this season, that’s going to be one of the biggest tests thus far.
Tactical Insights from De Rossi
Could one or both of Roma’s newest signings make their debut from the opening whistle at the Allianz?
Daniele De Rossi spoke minutes before kick-off at the Allianz Stadium. He had this to say about his lineup and tactical approach:
“We always build play with three. Maybe you saw three defenders building play... And yes, I certainly did imagine Danso in that defence, and I spoke to him about it. Building with three, with the full-back pushing up or the three centre-backs remaining more static, is not much different. We nearly always build with three. Sometimes three plus two, sometimes with a diamond. It depends.
“Last year we would often have a full-back drop deeper. We defended with three and you didn’t realise. Other times we played with three centre-backs and you thought that was the problem. It’s an option.
“Lots of teams attack with five players as we do. We haven’t come up with anything new. I saw Roberto Mancini doing it, and others too, when we won the Euros. And I liked it a lot. Lots of teams attack with five channels, five attacking players. You either have to be good at sliding across with a four-man defence or you have to push an extra player forward from deep as Thiago often does with [Khephren] Thuram and in other games with [Manuel] Locatelli. It doesn’t change much. That might sound like nonsense but it’s true. It depends on the players.”
That was Daniele De Rossi’s answer when asked if he planned to play with a back three for today's match. The ambiguity in his answer leads one to believe that whether the formation listed on paper is a 4-3-2-1 or a 3-5-2, the formation will be fluid in how the team moves around the pitch. And with Chris Smalling set to depart for Saudi Arabia and Mario Hermoso not yet officially a Roma player, if Roma does deploy a back three, it’ll be a full-back as the third defender.
More and more publications on the peninsula are projecting the 3-5-2, with Angeliño as the third center back with Gianluca Mancini and Evan Ndicka. With the potential shift to a five-man midfield, it’s increasingly likely that the new signing, Alexis Saelemaekers, could make his Roma debut from the opening whistle on the left wing. Opposite him on the right will be Zeki Çelik.
In the central midfield, likely, the usual trio of Lorenzo Pellegrini, Leandro Paredes, and Bryan Cristante remains the starters with Enzo Le Fée out injured. However, there’s some chatter that new signing Manu Koné could get the debut nod over Cristante. Rounding out the XI will be Paulo Dybala and Artem Dovbyk forming the attack, with Matías Soulé being pushed to the bench.
The De Rossi Factor
Roma manager Daniele De Rossi spoke minutes before kick-off at the Allianz Stadium.
As the Giallorossi prepare to face Juventus in a packed stadium, the Roma boss discussed his decisions with DAZN.
“All games are difficult, but perhaps this one has an emotional charge that perhaps helps us to be more focused,” he said.
“The last days of the market are devastating. It’s the first time I’ve experienced them on the other side of the fence and it’s complicated, but we’re all in the same situation, we’ll have to see who will be the best on the pitch.”
“As a coach I always try to show what’s on my mind. It can change from game to game. The choices are in line with what I have always told the kids or in the press conference. If they show me that they train well and are growing, like Pisilli, it is right to have courage and give them an important opportunity on Sunday.”
“The stadium? It’s not the first time I’ve come here, nice atmosphere, it’s a Juve-Roma. We must be ready to tolerate even a bit of antagonism from the opposing fanbase.”
Roma’s potential lineup
ROMA (3-5-2): Svilar; Mancini, Ndicka, Angeliño; Çelik, Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini, Saelemaekers; Dybala, Dovbyk.
Or
(4-3-3): Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Ndicka, Angelino; Cristante, Pisilli, Pellegrini; Soulé, Dovbyk, Saelemaekers
The Verdict
Juventus have gotten off to a flying start this season with two 3-0 wins over Como and Verona, while Roma have managed to pick up just a single point from their first two games of the campaign.
Although it’s still early in the season, Juventus’ start—with clinical finishing and entertaining football—is a stark contrast to what we witnessed last season under Max Allegri.
Roma will not be an easy opponent to overcome, but their start has been less than convincing, making this a very good time for Juve to face the men from Rome.
Let us know in the comments below what you think about the team Motta has selected and what your final score prediction is.
