When Paulo Dybala returns to Juventus, the stadium he last left in tears, on Saturday, the team will look to build on a perfect Serie A start.
After two one-goal victories against Salernitana and Cremonese, Roma travels to Turin with some preseason excitement dampened by the injuries to Georginio Wijnaldum and Nicolo Zaniolo.
Roma’s marquee signing Dybala will be expected to avenge his previous club, who released him in the summer, after Zaniolo, the country’s international, dislocated his shoulder on Monday. Zaniolo had been Roma’s most impressive player in their first two games.
When Juventus management chose to end the Argentina forward’s seven-year stay at Italy’s top club, he was in pieces as he bid farewell to the club’s supporters back in May. He sat on the Allianz Stadium pitch alongside Dusan Vlahovic well after the fans had left and were contemplating his future.
After protracted contract negotiations, Juve withdrew from a verbal agreement to raise his annual compensation to eight million euros with bonuses, which the club hierarchy deemed too expensive.
For most of the summer, the 28-year-old was expected to join Juventus’ primary rivals Inter Milan. Still, after they signed Romelu Lukaku, the move became impractical for a team trying to strike a delicate balance between cost-cutting and competitiveness.
So in swooped Roma for possibly the best value deal of the European transfer window, the capital club and in particular Jose Mourinho convincing a proven performer to take a fraction of what he was asking Juve in order to play for a team on the up.
– Allegri under fire –
Dybala will be charged with improving Roma’s record at the Allianz Stadium — one win in 12 defeats in all competitions — and they might fancy their chances this weekend against a Juve side which has failed to convince fans or pundits of their title credentials.Juve and in particular coach Massimiliano Allegri were heavily criticised for their drab display at Sampdoria on Monday night, where star striker Dusan Vlahovic was starved of service.
Vlahovic only touched the ball nine times while Juve’s midfield, shorn of the injured Paul Pogba for another few weeks, reassembled a black hole more than an engine room.
Allegri should have Leonardo Bonucci and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny back for the clash but as the coach pointed out in a baffling post-Samp interview with DAZN, the one positive for Juve “is that we haven’t conceded in two games”.
Juve’s midfield deficiencies should lessen the impact of Wijnaldum’s tibia fracture for Roma, who will also have Lorenzo Pellegrini and Tammy Abraham in attack for a match which will show whether pundits were right to pick them as a dark horse for the Scudetto.
Level on points with Roma but leading the early standings are Napoli, who are on a high after netting nine times ahead of Sunday’s trip to Fiorentina.
New-boy Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has bewitched supporters with two sublime attacking displays against Verona and Monza but the Viola – in Conference League action at FC Twente on Thursday — are an altogether trickier proposition.
Inter Milan get the ball rolling on Friday at Lazio, another team who have been tipped to trouble the top four, while champions AC Milan host Bologna with rumours swirling that Chelsea might make a late bid for star winger Rafael Leao.
Key stats
5 – The number of league titles Dybala won in seven years at Juventus.3 – Kvaratskhelia has netted three times and set up another for Napoli.
Fixtures (times GMT)