Juventus will continue their preparations for the 2024-25 Serie A campaign on Saturday, when they meet Brest at the Stadio Adriatico-Giovanni Cornacchia.
I Bianconeri suffered a 3-0 defeat to Nurnberg in their first pre-season outing last week, while their visitors have fallen short against Stade-Laval and Napoli in their last two outings ahead of their Ligue 1 term.
Match preview
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Juventus will go in search of a first victory under the management of Thiago Motta on Saturday, having turned to the new boss ahead of the 2024-25 Serie A term after the departure of Massimiliano Allegri late last season.
That campaign was a mixed one for the Turin giants, as they again failed to regain the Serie A title, with Allegri departing two matches before the end of the term following a triumphant Coppa Italia final, in which they lifted the trophy for the 15th time in their history thanks to a 1-0 victory over Atalanta at the Stadio Olimpico with Dusan Vlahovic netting the only goal inside the opening five minutes.
Paolo Montero then led I Bianconeri for the final two outings, overseeing a comeback 3-3 draw away at Bologna and a 2-0 home victory over Monza, to see them finish third in Italy's top flight on 71 points, 23 behind winners Inter Milan, before tasking Motta with leading them into the new campaign in search of a first Serie A title since 2020.
Their preparations for the upcoming term began with a trip to Germany to take on Nurnberg last week, and Juve were unable to make a winning start, eventually succumbing to a 3-0 defeat as Caspar Jander had the hosts ahead from the 17th minute and Dustin Forkel and Tim Janisch added their names to the scoresheet in the dying minutes.
Having rotated heavily throughout that game, Juventus will now take a step-up in their preparations and bid to put a win on the board on Saturday ahead of the beginning of their league term in mid-August.
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They meet a visiting side who will also look to ramp up their pre-season campaign and Italian trip with the Ligue 1 opener looming in two weeks.
Brest turned their focus to the 2024-25 domestic term on the back of a memorable campaign last time around, finishing third in the French top flight, being their highest-ever finish, and securing Champions League qualification for the first time in their 74-year history.
After seeing a record-breaking 13-match league unbeaten streak in that campaign halted, their league term ended on a high in May, following up a 5-4 win over Rennes and back-to-back draws with a 3-0 final-day beating of Toulouse, seeing Eric Roy's team finish on 61 points from their 34 games having won 17 of those while only suffering seven defeats.
Their preparations for the new season then began with a 2-0 victory over Avranches and a 1-1 draw with Lorient in friendlies in July, before falling to a 1-0 loss at the hands of Stade-Laval and beginning their Italian trip with another narrow loss to Napoli at the Stadio Teofilo Patini on Wednesday as Giacomo Raspadori netted the only goal of the game on the stroke of half time.
Now heading across to Pescara for the second of their pair of games in Italy, before meeting Newcastle United at St James' Park in their final pre-season outing, Brest will bid to get back to winning ways and begin building momentum on Saturday.
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Team News
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After rotating heavily throughout their meeting with Nurnberg, Thiago Motta may field a full-strength Juventus starting XI from the outset on Saturday, with summer signing Khephren Thuram set to again partner Manuel Locatelli in the engine room with fellow new arrival Douglas Luiz only joining the Bianconeri camp in midweek after his switch from Aston Villa and the recent Copa America.
Timothy Weah should come in on the wing from the outset while Filip Kostic remains sidelined by injury, and Dusan Vlahovic should lead the line having netted 18 goals across league and cup action last term.
Michele Di Gregorio, who arrived from Monza over the summer, will get the nod between the sticks, while Gleison Bremer may return in time to join Tiago Djalo at the heart of a back four.
Brest head to Italy without defender Bradley Locko, who is away on international duty with France at the Olympic Games, while attacker Steve Mounie and centre-back Lillian Brassier are notable departures in the summer transfer window.
They have bolstered their ranks in the off-season though, with defenders Jordan Amavi, Julien Le Cardinal and Abdoulaye Ndiaye arriving alongside striker Ludovic Ajorque, and they could all be handed starts in preparation for their Ligue 1 curtain-raiser.
Romain Del Castillo remains a key man on the wing, having topped their scoring charts last season, while Pierre Lees-Melou, Mahdi Camara and Hugo Magnetti could all keep their places in the midfield heading into the new term.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Barbieri, Djalo, Bremer, Cabral; Thuram, Locatelli; Weah, Fagioli, Miretti; Vlahovic
Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Lala, Ndiaye, Le Cardinal, Amavi; Lees-Melou, Camara, Magnetti; Del Castillo, Ajorque, Pereira Lage
We say: Juventus 2-1 Brest
Still new to life under Thiago Motta and facing a tough test on Saturday, we see Juventus being run close but making their extra quality count in the weekend's friendly in Italy.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
