Today is Juventus’ 123rd birthday. Juve has played on its birthday before, with the pretty much all over the board because that’s simply what happens when you have 122 of these things before this year. Some good, some bad, some in between and others that will have probably left Juve supporters frustrated just like the club’s last couple of Serie A fixtures.
Juventus is coming off a very bad 2-0 loss to Barcelona. Before that, there was the disappointing 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona. The weekend before that, there was another 1-1 draw, this time against Crotone. Sure, there’s a 2-0 win to open the Champions League group stage mixed there, but that seems like years ago when you think about how Juve’s last two games have gone.
Much like the matchup against Crotone, this is the chance to at least get a little bit right against a team that Juventus should be beating 11 times out of 10. Spezia has only one win to its name this season — which came over a month ago against Udinese. Since then, it’s been a loss and a couple of draws against Parma and Fiorentina. (Not exactly heavy hitters in Serie A, right?) So, yeah, this is a game where Juventus needs a win and needs a win bad.
Even though Andrea Pirlo’s side remains unbeaten in their last five fixtures, three draws and two wins have seen them slip to the fifth position in the Serie A standings. Spezia who are currently ranked 14th in the league standings even though had surprised many with their win against Udinese, have fared poorly against top-tier teams. Spezia suffered 3-0 defeats against AC Milan and Sassuolo.
The 2020-21 Serie A campaign being the first for Spezia they have encountered Juventus only on few occasions in the past. The two met in Serie B on two occasions in the 2006-07 season when Juventus was demoted to the second division following a scandal. In that season Spezia drew a home game and went on to register a 3-2 win over Juventus.
Cristiano Ronaldo Hasn’t played for Juventus since September. Scores within 3 minutes of coming on.
The GOAT is back!
First game. First shot! First Goal!
CRISTIANO RONALDO ? pic.twitter.com/edM8MIzHZt— YOUR DAD ? (@Olafweshy) November 1, 2020