Juventus begin the defence of their Serie A crown against Parma on Saturday as they look to make a positive start to the new campaign.
The Bianconeri have a new man in charge this season with Maurizio Sarri replacing Massimiliano Allegri, although as noted by BBC Sport, the Italian tactician is currently being treated for pneumonia and so it seems unlikely that he will be on the bench on Saturday evening.
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Nevertheless, he’ll be involved in preparations and setting his team up for the clash before handing over to his coaching staff, and La Gazzetta dello Sport have offered a possible starting XI for the clash at the Tardini.
Wojciech Szczesny is expected to keep his place between the posts despite the return of Gianluigi Buffon this summer, while Danilo could get the nod at right-back after arriving from Manchester City to replace Joao Cancelo.
Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini are being tipped to start in the heart of the backline, which in turn means that big-money signing Matthijs de Ligt may well have to be content with a place on the bench despite his £67.5m move from Ajax this summer, as per BBC Sport.
Alex Sandro will start at left-back, while Sami Khedira, Miralem Pjanic and Adrien Rabiot could form the midfield trio with Aaron Ramsey on the bench too having steadily returned from a previous injury setback over the summer.
Douglas Costa and Paulo Dybala could offer support for Cristiano Ronaldo in the attacking trident, which means that the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Mario Mandzukic are set to remain on the bench.
Sarri and his staff are blessed with real quality and depth this season, and that is shown in the players who aren’t expected to even start on Saturday.
Coupled with the ongoing influence of Ronaldo and the addition of top players such as Rabiot and Ramsey to the midfield coupled with De Ligt offering a long-term solution in defence, it promises to be another successful year for the Turin giants as they hope to add more silverware to their cabinet, including perhaps the Champions League as a priority.
Possible Juventus XI: Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, Chiellini; Alex Sandro; Khedira, Pjanic, Rabiot; Costa, Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo.
