Juventus: 5 Players Who Must Shine Against Sampdoria

Juventus will face off against Sampdoria on Sunday night at the Allianz Stadium for their 2020-2021 Serie A opener. These five players must shine.

The Bianconeri won their ninth straight Scudetto last season despite stumbling at the end of the campaign, but Juventus have been reenergized by the appointment of Italian football legend Andrea Pirlo as manager. Further, Juve have added two young midfielders to the club in Weston McKennie and Arthur Melo.

This won’t be a new-look Juventus team, but there are enough new pieces that fans should be excited for the opener against Sampdoria.

Here are five players who must shine for the Old Lady on Serie A’s first matchday.

Juventus CM Arthur Melo

Arthur Melo is one of the new kids on the block, and the player often compared to Barcelona legend Xavi is ready to create his own legacy for the Bianconeri. Initially hesitant to leave La Blaugrana, Arthur eventually wanted to get out of a club mired in controversy earlier than expected, much to Barça’s chagrin. 

All eyes will be on Arthur’s ability to change the Juve midfield, bringing them energy and ball-carrying skills as a hard-working, two-way midfielder. Pirlo likely has big plans for the young Brazilian, whose quality in midfield should make him an immediate star for the Bianconeri. Not even Rodrigo Bentancur or Adrien Rabiot can touch what Arthur could bring to the table.

Juventus FW Dejan Kulusveski

Because of injuries, Juventus will likely start Cristiano Ronaldo and Dejan Kulusevski up top. We all know what Ronaldo can bring to the table as Serie A’s best player, but Kulusevski is less of a known commodity to fans who did not track him closely at Parma.

Kulusevski is the real deal. He brings energy, athleticism, and plenty of production. The 20-year-old Swedish attacking player scored 10 goals with eight assists as Parma’s best player, starring alongside Gervinho for one of the league’s better teams.

Don’t be surprised if he scores or assists at the Allianz Stadium this weekend.

Juventus RB Juan Cuadrado

Juan Cuadrado is an easy player to overlook, but he is one of Juve’s best players. The Colombian’s consistency and two-way style of play make him easy to underrate, but Cuadrado is a skilled playmaker in the final third who can create or even score. He’ll likely play as a right wing back for Andrea Pirlo this season, which is an ideal position for him.

Cuadrado’s service will be vital against Sampdoria, who will make themselves as difficult to break down as possible. The veteran wide man’s experience and bag of tricks will serve Juve well.

Juventus CB Leonardo Bonucci

Mattijs de Ligt’s injury to start the season means that even more pressure is on Leonardo Bonucci to hold down the fort at the center of the back three. Bonucci made a lot of bad mistakes near the end of the season, contributing to the Bianconeri dropping loads of points.

But at the end of the day, even with his errors, Bonucci is still one of the best defenders in Serie A. Against the free-scoring Fabio Quagliarella, Bonucci must be astute and track the Serie A standout’s movement at every turn. Quagliarella would love to move about undetected by Juve’s back three.

Juventus LB Luca Pellegrini

Young left back Luca Pellegrini spent the 2019-2020 season on loan at Cagliari and has all the traits to be a great attacking fullback for Juventus. And they need that, too, since Alex Sandro has lost most of his attacking juice. Sandro is still a quality player defensively, but he doesn’t offer enough attacking-wise to be a wing back for Juve.

Pellegrini’s pace and raw talent make him an exciting player for Pirlo to use in 2020-2021. If he gets the start on Matchday 1, then he could really turn heads by teaming up with Cuadrado to give Juve useful wide play.