Preview: Frosinone vs Juventus - prediction, team news, lineups

After a costly collapse at the end of last season, Juventus will have a point to prove when their Serie A season starts with Sunday's visit to newly promoted Frosinone.

While Juve want to bounce back from failing to make the top four in May, their hosts will be eyeing survival.

Match preview

Having taken just five points from their last five games of the 2025-26 campaign, Juventus narrowly missed out on claiming Champions League qualification.

Drawing with city rivals Torino in the final week saw the Bianconeri fumble a precious top-four finish, forcing them to settle for a place in the Europa League.

Nonetheless, interim coach Luciano Spalletti was still spared the sack, and the former Italy manager's team fared pretty well in pre-season.

Following a goalless draw with Basel, Juve beat both Standard Liege and Nice, then defeated Chelsea and Palermo either side of losing to old foes Inter Milan.

The Turin club have also been busy re-shaping Spalletti's squad while tidying up their balance sheet: high-earner Dusan Vlahovic was the main departure, with Kerim Alajbegovic the most exciting arrival.

Now, they will try to continue a trend of success on Serie A's opening matchday, having won all but two of their last 15 league openers and kept clean sheets in six of the last seven.

By contrast, Frosinone have failed to take a point from their first top-flight fixture of the season, losing three out of three to date.

Furthermore, the Canarini have previously lost five from six against Juventus in Serie A, conceding at least twice on each occasion.

Frosinone returned to Italy's elite level at their second attempt last season, finishing one point behind Serie B champions Venezia - just a year after settling for 15th place.

Head coach Massimiliano Alvini led them to 12 wins from 19 home games, and his team comfortably scored the most set-piece goals - a huge tally of 29 included 14 from corners.

Immediately demoted after their last promotion in 2023, they are intent on avoiding the same fate again, with Austria internationals Florian Grillitsch and Romano Schmid headlining an influx of new players.

After ending pre-season by losing to local rivals Lazio, the Giallazzurri recently strode through to round two of the Coppa Italia, with their 4-1 win over Juve Stabia setting up a trip to Sassuolo.

Frosinone form (all competitions):

Juventus pre-season form:

Team News

Juventus can no longer call upon Vlahovic, who was released at the end of his contract, so fit-again Arkadiusz Milik, Jonathan David and Randal Kolo Muani will vie to lead the Bianconeri's attack.

Bolstering his forward options, Spalletti brought Kolo Muani back to the club and signed Bosnian star Alajbegovic, following right-back Zeki Celik's surprise arrival from Roma.

Jeff Ekhator was also lured away from Genoa, but the Italy international has been hampered by a thigh injury and is likely to miss out this weekend; Federico Gatti is also a doubt.

After Juve conceded from the first opposition shot on target in nearly half their league matches last season, Guglielmo Vicario will replace Michele Di Gregorio as number one goalkeeper.

While Kenan Yildiz top-scored with 10 Serie A goals, Frosinone's Fares Ghedjemis notched 15 in the second tier; midfielder Giacomo Calo also posted a league-high 25 goal involvements.

Facing a potential survival fight, the hosts have recruited Schmid, Patrizio Masini and several others who could be involved on Sunday.

Alvini was missing new boys Grillitsch and Terzic for last week's cup tie - in which Giorgi Kvernadze scored two goals and set up another - but Seydou Fini will be back after serving a suspension.

Frosinone possible starting lineup:

Palmisani; Oyono, Calvani, Monterisi, Bracaglia; Masini, Calo; Ghedjemis, Schmid, Kvernadze; Raimondo

Juventus possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso; Locatelli, Luiz; Conceicao, McKennie, Yildiz; Kolo Muani