Match Preview: Juventus vs Fiorentina – Serie A giants begin title defence

Match Preview: Juventus vs Fiorentina – Serie A giants begin title defence

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Juventus kick off their Serie A title defence with a marquee opening weekend fixture against Fiorentina on Sunday morning.

The Bianconeri are in search of their sixth consecutive Scudetto, while Fiorentina will have their eyes set on improving from their fifth place finish last season under coach Paulo Sousa.

Key Battle – Miralem Pjanic vs Borja Valero

Both men will be absolutely key to their team’s chances of a win this Saturday. New signing Miralem Pjanic will have plenty of weight on his shoulders heading into his debut, filling in for the injured Claudio Marchisio as Juve’s playmaking midfielder, a role extremely crucial to the side’s success over the past five years.

Meanwhile, Spaniard Borja Valero is arguably the Viola’s most important player. The 31-year-old hurt his right ankle last week and was initially considered a doubt to lineup tomorrow, however, latest reports suggest his injury is not as serious as initially feared.

Team News

Marchisio is Juventus’ only missing star with Massimiliano Allegri otherwise having a full squad at his disposal. Dani Alves and Pjanic are expected to make their starting debut, meanwhile Gonzalo Higuain will likely come on from the bench with Mario Mandzukic lining up from kick-off. Kwadwo Asamoah’s impressive performances in preseason also look to have earned him a starting spot ahead of Mario Lemina in midfield.

On the other hand, Cristian Tello’s move back to Fiorentina was only confirmed days ago and the Spaniard is not expected to play any role in this match.

Expected Lineups

Juventus 3-5-2

Buffon (GK); Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Dani Alves, Khedira, Pjanic, Asamoah, Alex Sandro; Mandzukic, Dybala.

Fiorentina 3-4-3

Tatasuranu (GK); Tomovic, Rodriguez, Astori; Bernadeschi, Badelj, Borja Valero, Alonso; Zarate, Kalinic, Ilicic.

Head-to-head

The two sides have met 45 times with Juventus claiming victory on 24 occasions, Fiorentina winning six and 15 games ending in a draw overall.

Previous Meeting

The Bianconeri came away 2-1 winners at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the most recent fixture back in April. Mario Mandzukic’s opener was cancelled out by Nikola Kalinic’s strike, with Alvaro Morata scoring the winner, which took Juventus to 24 wins from 25 matches at the time.

Prediction

Juventus look a cut above other club in Serie A right now. The absence of Marchisio will take it’s toll on the team and though Pjanic is an established star in Serie A, it will not be easy for the Bosnian stepping straight into a role that has become so important at Juventus.

The champions will not be taking Paulo Sousa’s Fiorentina side lightly on matchday one, as the Turin club failed to beat Udinese at last season’s opening fixture and will be looking to get their 2016-17 off to a flying start this time around.

Juventus 2 Fiorentina 0

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