Again hoping to reclaim the Serie A title, fallen giants Juventus will kick off another league campaign on Sunday evening, when they welcome Parma to Turin.
The Bianconeri endured more strife last season, before salvaging a precious top-four finish; meanwhile, their Gialloblu counterparts successfully avoided relegation.
Match preview
Previously Serie A champions for nine straight years, Juventus have now failed to claim top spot in Serie A since 2020, only scraping into fourth place last term following yet another year of turmoil.
The Turin club also made an early exit from the Champions League, as a repeated failure to convert draws into wins continually cost them dear: equalling a club record, they drew 20 games across all competitions.
Almost inevitably, Thiago Motta was sacked before completing his first season; having been hired to replace Motta in March, interim boss Igor Tudor - a former Juve defender and assistant - impressively steadied the ship.
After more boardroom ineptitude meant they failed to secure the signature of either Antonio Conte or Gian Piero Gasperini, Tudor was invited to extend his contract and lead Juventus into the new-look Club World Cup.
Following some solid performances in the United States, where Juve went out in the last 16 to Real Madrid, a shortened pre-season schedule finished with last week's 2-1 win over Atalanta.
Movement in the transfer market has been limited, as the Bianconeri continue to pay for past mistakes, but Jonathan David's arrival from Lille should inject some life into a misfiring front line.
Arsenal assistant Carlos Cuesta pictured on May 7, 2023
Helping them complete their survival mission last season, Parma beat Juventus 1-0 at Stadio Tardini in April, having drawn 2-2 in Turin six months earlier.
The Emilian side went on to confirm their top-flight status with a 3-2 victory over Atalanta on the closing matchday, ensuring they will play back-to-back Serie A seasons for the first time since 2021.
However, head coach Cristian Chivu soon departed to take up a big challenge at his former club Inter Milan, leaving a void to be filled in the dugout.
On Sunday, new boss Carlos Cuesta - at the age of 30 years and 26 days - will become the third-youngest coach to debut in Italy's top flight, following his surprise move from Arsenal.
Remarkably, Parma only lost one of eight games against top-half teams after Chivu arrived in mid-season, so Cuesta is intent on following in those footsteps this weekend.
Ahead of his first league match as a senior manager, the ex-Juve youth coach led his new team to victory over Pescara in the Coppa Italia, with last week's 2-0 win setting up a home tie against Spezia in round two.
Juventus pre-season form: D W W
Parma form (all competitions): W
Team News
Juventus defender Gleison Bremer pictured on September 1, 2024
As an endless contract saga - and some shoddy finishing - has seen Dusan Vlahovic slip down the pecking order, Jonathan David is set lead the front line for Juventus.
The Canadian striker has scored at least 15 goals in all of his last four Ligue 1 campaigns, and with Randal Kolo Muani still awaiting the chance to turn last season's loan into a permanent move, he will spearhead Juve's attack.
Having followed another loanee, Francisco Conceicao, in joining the club from Porto this summer, Joao Mario may start on the right flank.
While Nicolo Savona, Juan Cabal and Fabio Miretti are all ruled out by injury, Brazilian centre-back Bremer makes a welcome return.
Parma have sold teenage defender Giovanni Leoni to Liverpool, and their attack is missing Ange-Yoan Bonny, as the French forward followed Cristian Chivu to Inter.
The latter's replacement Matija Frigan recently suffered an ACL rupture, so Marco Pellegrino - who bagged a brace against Pescara in the cup - is favourite to start up front.
With a broken leg, Swedish winger Jacob Ondrejka will also be unavailable for the foreseeable future, while Botond Balogh must serve a suspension.
Juventus possible starting lineup: Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly; Mario, Thuram, Locatelli, Cambiaso; Conceicao, Yildiz; David
Parma possible starting lineup: Suzuki; Delprato, Circati, Valenti; Lovik, Bernabe, Keita, Valeri; Almqvist, Ordonez; Pellegrino
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We say: Juventus 3-1 Parma
To date, Juventus and Parma have faced each other four times on matchday one, with the Bianconeri winning all four games by an aggregate scoreline of 9-2.
Juve will come out on top once again, as their new-look attack can hurt the visitors' dubious defence.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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