Thiago Motta explains why he starts 20-year-old Samuel Mbangula rather than Douglas Luiz in the Juventus Serie A opener against Como. ‘Because he deserves it.’
It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
The Bianconeri have stuttered badly in pre-season friendlies, so with many players like Federico Chiesa, Filip Kostic and Weston McKennie frozen out, question marks remain over what identity this brand new Juve will have.
Thiago Motta trusts new Juventus faces
Did the coach give much advice to the players in the locker room before they came out for the warm-up?
“I did not say much to the team before the match, but we talked a lot during the week. We watched our opponents to see what we want to be on the pitch,” Thiago Motta told DAZN.
Danilo is not fully fit, so Andrea Cambiaso switches over to right-back, but the big shock is that 20-year-old Next Gen talent Mbangula starts rather than Douglas Luiz. Why make that choice?
“Because he deserves it. He worked well in training, did everything from the first day and has done very well when coming on, so today he can help his teammates.”
It was also expected to be a 4-1-4-1 formation, but instead this allows Kenan Yildiz to take a more central role supporting Dusan Vlahovic in a 4-2-3-1.
“Yildiz needs to participate in the game, so in that position he can attack the space and has a good shot. He likes to be close to Dusan and we’ll try to get the best out of him.”