Juventus will be looking to make a winning start to their 2020-21 Serie A campaign when they welcome Sampdoria to the Allianz Stadium on Sunday night.
The Old Lady won Serie A for a ninth time in succession last season, while Sampdoria ended the campaign in 15th position in the table, losing more than half of their 38 league matches.
Match preview
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Andrea Pirlo begins life as Juve boss with a home game against Sampdoria, and there is no question that the club's legendary former midfielder will be determined to get his tenure off to a winning start.
Utterly dominant in Italian football, Juve won a ninth straight title last season but only finished a point clear of second-place Inter Milan, while Lazio in fourth were only five points off the summit.
The Old Lady had their problems last season, and they were surprisingly dumped out of the Champions League by Lyon, losing on away goals to the French outfit in the last-16 stage of the competition.
It has not been a particularly busy summer for the club in terms of recruitment, but Arthur has arrived from Barcelona, while Weston McKennie has made the move from Schalke 04 on an initial loan deal.
Luis Suarez and Edin Dzeko are both being strongly linked with moves to Turin, though, and it will be fascinating to see which striker Pirlo's side sign, potentially in the coming days.
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Sampdoria, meanwhile, finished a disappointing 15th in Serie A last season, which was actually their lowest position in the table for four seasons.
A total of 20 defeats from 38 matches is their worst ever record at this level of football, but they were ultimately seven points clear of the relegation zone, which was occupied by Lecce, Brescia and SPAL.
Claudio Ranieri's side have been fairly busy in this summer's transfer window, spending small fees on a number of players, including 20-year-old attacker Mikkel Damsgaard from Denmark.
A trip to the Allianz Stadium is not quite what the club would have wanted as they bid to make a positive start to the new season, but they have beaten Juve as recently as May 2019, while their last away victory over the Old Lady in the top flight was a 2-1 success in January 2013.
Juventus pre-season form: W
Sampdoria pre-season form: DWW
Team News
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Juve will be without the services of Matthijs de Ligt following shoulder surgery, while a thigh strain picked up on international duty is expected to rule Federico Bernardeschi out of the contest.
Alex Sandro is also a major doubt due to a muscular problem that he picked up in training, while Paulo Dybala remains on the sidelines due to a thigh problem.
Dejan Kulusevski, who impressed on loan at Parma last season, is expected to make his debut alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in attack, while Arthur should make his first outing in the middle of the park.
Danilo is being tipped to start as one of three central defenders, meanwhile, while Sandro's injury could open the door for Luca Pellegrini to start as a wing-back.
As for Sampdoria, Felice D'Amico is unavailable for selection through injury, while Kristoffer Askildsen is suspended following his red card against Brescia on the last weekend of the 2019-20 campaign.
Omar Colley, who has recently been linked with Liverpool, will start at the back and should be joined by former Southampton defender Maya Yoshida.
Federico Bonazzoli, meanwhile, should partner Fabio Quagliarella in attack, and the latter will be looking to fire against the club that he represented between 2010 and 2014.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, Chiellini; Cuadrado, Rabiot, Arthur, Ramsey, Pellegrini; Kulusevski, Ronaldo
Sampdoria possible starting lineup:
Audero; Bereszynski, Colley, Yoshida, Augello; Depaoli, Thorsby, Ekdal, Jankto; Bonazzoli, Quagliarella
We say: Juventus 2-0 Sampdoria
Juve will not be at full strength this weekend, but it is still very difficult to look past the reigning champions on home soil. A number of players will be looking to make a positive impression on Pirlo, and we are predicting a routine home success for the Old Lady.
Top betting tip
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Matt Law
