Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus welcome Thiago Motta’s Bologna to Allianz Stadium on Sunday in Serie A Matchday 2 play.
Key Takeaways
- The Bianconeri made an excellent start to the new campaign with a comprehensive 3-0 triumph away to Udinese
- It was a tricky start for Bologna as they began the season with a 2-0 defeat at home to Milan
- The Rossoblù have not beaten Juve in any of their last 24 consecutive attempts across all competitions
The Old Lady will be hoping to get back into the top four this season after finishing down in seventh last term. Motta guided Bologna to an impressive ninth-placed finish last season and will be aiming for another top-half finish this term.
Juventus Form
Despite qualifying in the spot for the Europa Conference League, Juventus have been banned from all European competitions for the season. That means that they will not be playing in Europe for the first time in 12 years.
With little optimism heading into the 2023/24 campaign, Juve got off to a flyer with a 3-0 victory away to Udinese. Federico Chiesa, Dusan Vlahovic and Adrien Rabiot all got on the scoresheet in the win as the Bianconeri picked up a deserved three points.
Bologna Form
A poor beginning to the 2022/23 season saw Bologna win just one of their first six matches. That led to Motta taking charge in September. After a slow start, he managed to get the Rossoblù in form to lead them to a top-half finish, which was just their second in 11 years.
It was a tough opening to the new campaign, however, for Bologna as they went two goals down after just 21 minutes at home to Milan last time out. Goals from Olivier Giroud and Christian Pulisic wrapped up the victory for the Rossoneri.
Head-to-Head
Bologna have been extremely poor against Juve and have not won against them across any of their last 24 straight meetings in all competitions. Their last triumph came all the way back in 2011 when the Old Lady were playing at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino. However, Motta’s side did share the points in a 1-1 draw when they last met back in April.
Team News
Mattia De Sciglio and Kaio Jorge are expected to remain on the sidelines for the hosts since they have been absent now for some time due to injury. Moise Kean is questionable as he missed the season opener due to injury. Paul Pogba was able to make the bench last time out after missing all summer so he will be hoping for some minutes in this one.
The visitors will be without Musa Barrow and Adama Soumaoro for the match in Turin due to respective muscle and ACL injuries. The hope is that the former can return by next month. Soumaoro was one of the regular starters at centre-back last term so will be an important absentee.
Key Players
Vlahovic got off the mark from the penalty spot last time out but was also able to supply the assist for Chiesa’s opener. His performances will be key to Juve’s success this season. So too will the form of Chiesa as he finally looks to get back on track after dealing with multiple fitness issues over the last couple of seasons.
The sale of Marko Arnautovic to Inter will be felt hard in the Bologna camp since he has managed to get double figures in terms of goals in each of the last two consecutive seasons. New signing Dan Ndoye will be important going forward after putting in a solid performance in his debut against Milan.
How to watch on TV or Online
UK Serie A fans will be able to watch Juventus vs Bologna live on TNT Sports 1.
Final Thoughts
The home side looked good last weekend and should carry that momentum into the match here, especially since they are playing on their own turf. It will be difficult for Bologna who have struggled to win against Juve now for some time. They will be hoping for a point.
Serie A