Juventus Prepares for Serie A Opener Against Frosinone

Luciano Spalletti has drawn a hard line before a ball is kicked in Serie A. The Juventus coach has confirmed that Randal Kolo Muani and Guglielmo Vicario will both start away to Frosinone on Sunday – and warned the rest of his squad that the “bell has rung” on any complacency.

Kick-off at the Stadio Stirpe is set for 17.30 UK time (18.30 CEST), but Spalletti has already set the tone.

‘Whoever isn’t ready will be pushed towards the exit’

Spalletti opened his pre-match press conference with a nod to the hosts, and a reminder that Juventus are no longer strolling into Champions League places by right.

“I want to congratulate Frosinone on returning to Serie A and my friend Massimiliano Alvini for the work he did to achieve promotion,” he said, before quickly pivoting to his own dressing room.

“The bell has rung, the season has started, and whoever isn't ready will feel themselves getting pushed towards the exit. Teams are always evolving, so players must be prepared to go with that flow. I also went to watch a few Serie B coaches at work, to keep myself up to date.”

The message was clear: status counts for little, adaptation is everything.

Juventus arrive from a turbulent campaign in which they crashed out of the Champions League race late on and finished sixth, dropping into the Europa League. Pre-season has been uneven and the transfer market has stayed open right to the wire, but the squad has been reshaped with purpose.

A squad under construction – and under pressure

Kerim Alajbegovic, Jhon Lucumi, Jeff Ekhator and Zeki Celik are among the new arrivals, joining emerging leader Kenan Yildiz in a group Spalletti believes can be sharpened further.

“The squad right now is cohesive, united, but in future I'd like us to also be solid, robust, determined,” he explained. “In general we've had a good transfer market, some areas need a few cosmetic changes, others entire restoration projects.”

Alajbegovic, in particular, drew praise.

“We brought in a player like Alajbegovic who provides that sudden shock of energy, he sees the next move and can see it through. We've certainly made it more competitive all over the team.”

The reconstruction has to pay off quickly. Juventus were in the Champions League hunt until a late collapse last season; this time, the margin for error looks even thinner.

“There are seven or eight teams who can challenge for the top four, and last season we missed out. We've got to prove ourselves and become a balanced team. We have improved, but only the results will show us how much we've improved.”

Spalletti knows the outside noise. He also knows it means nothing once the season starts.

“Right now you all seem to think we'll be second or third, but it's the usual game when you try to guess the line-up, they can't all be in the starting XI.

“We had a good transfer strategy and are in a position to do more, while Milan made good investments, Inter and Napoli were already strong, Roma signed important players. They are all up there and have the same ambition, we all want to win many games.”

Vicario in goal, Kolo Muani up front

If Spalletti refused to play the prediction game on league positions, he did at least hand the media one concrete team news line: Vicario and Kolo Muani both start at Frosinone.

“Vicario and Kolo Muani will start, then after that we'll try to create a team that has balance, which gives individual players more freedom to express themselves within that framework.

“It is not system against system, but movement against movement, understanding where to create that space.”

The choice in goal comes amid a clear reshuffle in the department. Michele Di Gregorio is heading to Bournemouth on loan with an option to buy set at €14m, while Mattia Perin is preparing to join Palermo in Serie B.

“We got Vicario because we consider him strong and experienced, good with his feet, and has just started training over the last week with the team. He will play, Perin will remain as long as he can be useful, while Di Gregorio is almost official now, so he's not even in the squad.”

So Juventus go into their opener with a new goalkeeper, a new focal point in attack, and a coach who has publicly raised the stakes.

The bell has rung, as Spalletti said. Now comes the answer: are Juventus built for a top-four fight, or for something less forgiving?