19 August 2016
Opening day duels against Fiorentina
Saturday’s Serie A curtain-raiser against Fiorentina will be the fifth time that Juventus face the Viola in the first match of the season. On the last of these occasions, in August 2008, the sides played out a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Artemio Franchi when Pavel Nedved’s opener was cancelled out by Alberto Gilardino’s late equaliser.
The 1-1 scoreline was identical to that recorded in October 1941 – the very first time they faced one another for the maiden match of a league campaign – Ferruccio Valcareggi netting for the hosts after Riza Lushta had shot Juve into the lead.
It was a very different story in September 1949 when the Bianconeri romped to a 5-2 home victory over the Viola thanks to a John Hansen hat-trick and goals by Giampiero Boniperti and Rinaldo Martino.
Juve would have the upper hand once again in September 1991, albeit in a much tighter affair which saw Pierluigi Casiraghi’s powerful header separate the sides in a 1-0 win in Turin (highlights available in the video below).
Turin tussles
Juventus have won 51 out of 77 Serie A matches in which they have hosted Fiorentina in Turin. The Tuscans have come away with victory on just six occasions, the last of which in March 2008, which remains the Bianconeri’s only defeat in 24 top-tier tussles against the Viola. Of these matches, Juve have triumphed an impressive 18 times.
Bianconeri’s bright beginnings
Juventus is the team to have won more matches (53) and scored more goals (182) than any other in Italy’s Serie A, losing on just two occasions in their last 32 opening day fixtures: 0-1 against Bari in 2010 and 0-1 against Udinese in 2015.
The omens are on the Bianconeri’s side this time around especially as they have secured maximum points on all five times in which they’ve started the season on a Saturday.
The Old Lady’s renowned defensive strength also gains further credence from the impressive statistic that the last club to score against them more than once in their own backyard was Catanzaro in 1971 – a game nevertheless won by the Bianconeri (4-2).
Viola’s early season struggles
Fiorentina are the team to have conceded the most goals on the opening day of the Serie A campaign – a total of 99.
Furthemore, the Viola scarcely boast the strongest of recent records when starting the season on their travels, winning only once on the last 10 occasions (a 3-2 triumph away to Udinese in 1997), drawing three and losing the other six.
