Juventus v Nijmegen | Expected Lineup

Juventus return to European action on Thursday evening as they begin their Europa League campaign with a League Phase clash against NEC Nijmegen at the Allianz Stadium.

The Bianconeri will be looking to make a winning start on home soil, with kick-off scheduled for 21:00 CEST. NEC arrive in Turin hoping to produce another memorable result against Italian opposition, while Juventus will be aiming to establish themselves strongly from the opening night.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of Thursday’s highly anticipated encounter.

Juventus Bringing Strong European Form

Juventus have won four of their last six matches in European competition, recording one draw and one defeat during that run.

That is already as many victories as they managed across their previous 17 European matches, when they recorded four wins, eight draws and five defeats.

The Bianconeri will also bring considerably more European experience into the contest, particularly on the touchline.

Luciano Spalletti is set to coach his fifth different club in the Europa League since the 2009/10 season, following previous spells with Zenit St. Petersburg, Roma, Inter and Napoli.

The Certaldo-born coach has suffered only two defeats in his 18 group-stage matches in the competition, winning 12 and drawing four.

NEC Looking to Repeat Italian Success

Thursday’s match will be only the second time NEC have faced an Italian opponent in European competition. Their previous meeting came on December 18, 2008, when they defeated Udinese 2-0 at home in the UEFA Cup.

One player Juventus will be keeping a particularly close eye on is Randal Kolo Muani. The French striker has been directly involved in six goals across his last seven appearances in European club competitions, scoring four and providing two assists.

That represents a significant improvement from his first 25 European appearances, during which he contributed to just three goals, all of them coming through assists.

With Juventus looking to start their Europa League journey with a victory, the Allianz Stadium is set for an intriguing European night.

Expected Starting XI by Spalletti :

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