Serie A: Reloaded Juventus Commences Title Defence Against Parma

Parma vs Juventus

Italian juggernauts Juventus are looking to defend their title once more and they’ll start by going on the road against Parma in the first match day of Serie A.

Serie A 2019 odds have Juve remain as the heavy favourites to repeat as champions for the eighth time, and boy, they really look invincible.

After winning it all last season, the Maurizio Sarri-mentored squad continues to not let their guard down by reloading their roster during the summer with shiny additions.

Parma, on the other hand, are coming in with low expectations after finishing just 14^th last campaign and that isn’t about to change.

They will host the reigning champions at the Tardini on Saturday where they’ll hope to have a sucker’s chance of making an upset.

SBOBET looks into what’s ahead for the match between the Gialloblu and the Bianconeri.

Talking Points

Who can stop Juventus?

Probably no one, especially since they dominated the league for the better part of the decade. All in all, Juventus have won the Serie A scudetto 35 times and the rich got even richer during the transfer market last summer.

Matthijs de Ligt was signed for a whopping $84M after leading Ajax to the Champions League semis and he is expected to shine and do bigger things for Maurizio Sarri’s side this campaign.

Besides him, the team went out to grab the likes of Danilo, Aaron Ramsey, Luca Pellegrini, and Merih Demiral to supplement their aging backline while Adrien Rabiot will join Gonzalo Higuain in forming a lethal attacking combination.

Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri is keen to make a statement when he makes his Serie A debut — Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri during the post-match press conference in Singapore

Even with the departure of Joao Cancelo and Moise Kean, Juventus still looks stronger than most teams on paper. The squad will also feature new manager Maurizio Sarri as he will try to bring them to championship glory anew after Massimiliano Allegri stepped down towards the end of last year.

And let’s not forget the elephant in the room who is Cristiano Ronaldo. The 34-year-old superstar will look to bounce back to his otherworldly form after only scoring 21 goals in his first season in the league.

While it may look like that he’s on a steady decline due to his advancing age, expect the Portuguese to produce some of the best Serie A 2019 highlights in his second season with Juve.

Can Parma stay competitive in Serie A?

After going in and out from top-flight status in recent years, Parma is more than determined to continue in competing at the highest level while they try to book a spot in the Europa League.

The Gialloblu signed a couple of promising pieces over the offseason and they’ll surely help the team’s cause. Some notable signings include: Hermani, Yann Karamoh, Dejan Kulusevski, and Gaston Brugman.

At 21 years old, Karamoh is poised to breakout this year for Parma. The French winger is ready to make a name for himself after performing well for Bordeaux in Ligue 1 – even if their relationship turned sour towards the end. Nonetheless, expect him to make a considerable case to make the starting XI for team manager Roberto D’Aversa.

Bruno Alves will continue to man the backline for Parma. Already at 37-year-old, Alves brings veteran leadership as he is the heart and soul of the team. His fitness levels are still high and he has shown the capability to keep up with the youngsters.

Roberto D’Aversa will be tasked once again to try and bring Parma to new heights after a good turnout last campaign. He has been the manager for the team since 2016 and he has laid a viable foundation for the club in the foreseeable future.

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History

All in all, Parma and Juventus have had 23 total encounters where the former won six and the latter had won eight in those contests. Surprisingly, there have been nine draws between those clubs.

Last season, I Gialloblu put up a good fight against I Bianconeri. After trailing by two goals, Ivorian skipper Gervinho scored a brace to score a 3-3 draw against Juve.

Parma’s last win against the reigning Serie A champions was a 1-0 victory back in April 2015.

Betting Tip

	Parma vs Juventus	Juventus Asian Handicap -1.25 @1.74
	August 24, 00:00 (GMT+8)

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Juventus is primed to take their first win of the season against Parma.

The defending champions are at 1.33 odds for a victory while Parma are posted at 9.50. The odds of a draw between them are at 4.60.

Loaded with firepower at all positions, I see an easy 3-0 win for Juventus in this one. But let’s hope that the home team can make this more competitive than expected.