LIVE : Juventus vs. Empoli - prediction, team news, lineups
Having stumbled on the opening day, Juventus will be under pressure to pick up their first win of the new season when they meet promoted Empoli on Saturday.
Following a week of intense speculation about the future of their biggest star, Juve welcome the Serie B champions to Turin ahead of the upcoming international break.
Match preview
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A remarkable finale to their first fixture of the 2021-22 season saw Juventus leave Udine with only a point last weekend, as they threw away a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2.
Frenzied rumour surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo's unexpected benching was sidelined when Juve went ahead through well-worked goals from the rejuvenated Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado - this season playing in a more advanced role on the wing - but Gerard Deulofeu's 83rd-minute equaliser brought Udinese level. To bring a dramatic afternoon to a crescendo, Ronaldo then appeared from the bench to apparently head in a trademark winner, only to be denied after a lengthy VAR check, as he was ruled marginally offside.
Seeking a fast start in recovering the Scudetto - lost to arch-rivals Inter in May - following nine years of unbroken success, returning coach Max Allegri is known for his calming influence so will certainly earn his considerable pay packet this week, amid another turbulent few days at a club rarely out of the headlines of late.
Fortunately - or perhaps not, given the potential for calamity - Juventus have a 79% win percentage against Empoli - emerging victorious from 19 of their last 24 encounters and winning 11 of their 12 home games against the Tuscan side in Serie A. In fact, the Bianconeri did not even concede a single goal on nine of those occasions - an indicator as to the David versus Goliath nature of this weekend's fixture.
Though a certain striker's future hogs attention, Allegri will have seen some promise in the first hour at the Dacia Arena last time out, as Cuadrado's return to attacking duty after a mid-career switch to a flying full-back role has saw the Colombian score his third goal in his last three league games - as many as in his previous 85.
Set to make his 300th Serie A appearance on Saturday evening, the wing play of Cuadrado and his young colleague Federico Chiesa - who only managed to feature from the bench against Udinese - will be allied to Manuel Locatelli's impact in midfield; leaving their opponents with plenty to fear before their trip to Turin.
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Also finding their feet under new management, Empoli went down to a 3-1 defeat at home to Lazio on the opening day - handing coach Aurelio Andreazzoli his first competitive defeat after a Coppa Italia win started his reign the previous week.
It all started so well for the Azzurri, who cruised to the Serie B title in style last term, as they took an early lead through Filippo Bandinelli's fourth-minute strike, but they ultimately faded to finish empty-handed in front of their home fans.
Any hopes of staying afloat at the top level most probably do not rest on games against the division's heavyweights, such as Juve, but Andreazzoli will still hope to put up a fight at the Allianz Stadium - particularly as their hosts have failed to kill off lower-ranked teams on several occasions over the past 12 months.
An experienced campaigner, now in his third spell at Castellani, the former Roma assistant has reinforced the Tuscan club's promotion-winning squad by adding Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Patrick Cutrone to his strikeforce on loan, as the former Milan man aims to revive a drifting career while back in his homeland.
Young Inter striker Andrea Pinamonti will also join up with his erstwhile Italy Under-21 colleague this week, having signed a temporary deal to gain experience away from the champions well-stocked attacking department. The pair - allied to last season's top scorer Leonardo Mancuso - could be integral to Empoli's dreams of a shock result in perhaps their toughest game of the year.
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Team News
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Despite a failure to close the deal last time out, Max Allegri is likely to retain the 4-3-3 formation which started against Udinese, but changes in personnel are expected.
Of course, the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo continues to be debated, after he was only a substitute at the Dacia Arena - though the Portuguese superstar certainly made a belated impact on the game. Assuming he is not selected from the start, Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado could play in support of Alvaro Morata, though Federico Chiesa is now fully fit and will expect to feature too.
In midfield, Adrien Rabiot is now available after injury and Weston McKennie is back from suspension, but Arthur remains sidelined and so is perennial injury victim Aaron Ramsey, who picked up another niggle last week. Manuel Locatelli should now feature from the start after finally completing his move from Sassuolo and making a brief cameo in Udine.
Empoli, meanwhile, are poised to pair Patrick Cutrone with Leonardo Mancuso up front, while fellow loanees Petar Stojanovic and Riccardo Marchizza are set to continue as the full-backs in Aurelio Andreazzoli's probable 4-3-1-2 formation.
Despite returning to training last week, young defender Fabiano Parisi will not feature in the back four, but is edging closer to a return from a broken leg.
Newly arrived Andrea Pinamonti bolsters the visitors' attacking options at the Allianz Stadium, and is most likely to be handed some minutes against tiring legs in the second half.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Cuadrado, De Ligt, Bonucci, Sandro; Bentancur, Locatelli, Bernardeschi; Chiesa, Morata, Dybala
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Stojanovic, Ismajli, Romagnoli, Marchizza; Ricci, Stulac, Bandinelli; Bajrami; Mancuso, Cutrone