Official Juventus starting lineup vs Empoli: Renato Veiga set for Serie A debut | OneFootball

Juventus have released their starting lineup for the clash against Empoli and it includes Renato Veiga who will be making his first appearance in black and white.

The Bianconeri are welcoming the Azzurri at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday’s early Serie A kickoff. Thiago Motta’s men are coming off back-to-back defeats to Napoli and Benfica, so they certainly cannot afford another slip-up.

The manager has thus introduced a couple of tweaks to his starting lineup, some voluntary and others mandatory.

Michele Di Gregorio will make his return in goal after leaving his place between the sticks for Mattia Perin in midweek.

At the back, Veiga will have to step up following Pierre Kalulu’s injury. The 21-year-old completed a loan move from Chelsea earlier this week, and will thus partner Federico Gatti at the heart of the backline on his Juventus debut.

Nicolo Savona returns to the lineup to start at right-back, while Timothy Weah will continue to cover in an unconventional left-back role due to the absence of Andrea Cambiaso and Juan Cabal.

In the middle of the park, Manuel Locatelli will regain his natural Regista role after coming off the bench to play as an emergency central defender in midweek, thus dropping Douglas Luiz to the bench. Weston McKennie comes in for Khephren Thuram who is handed some rest.

Teun Koopmeiners will occupy the attacking-midfielder slot as usual, with Kenan Yildiz and Nicolas Gonzalez taking the wings at the expense of Samuel Mbangula and Francisco Conceicao who start on the bench.

Finally, Randal Kolo Muani gets the nod once more after scoring on his Serie A debut against Napoli. Therefore, Dusan Vlahovic has been relegated to the bench on the back of another listless display in the Champions League.

Juventus starting XI (4-2-3-1): Di Gregorio; Savona, Gatti, Veiga, Weah; Locatelli, McKennie; Yildiz, Koopmeiners, Gonzalez; Kolo Muani.