When Paulo Dybala returns to Juventus, the stadium he last left in tears, on Saturday, the team will look to build on a perfect Serie A start under his leadership.
After two one-goal victories over Salernitana and Cremonese, Roma travels to Turin with some of their preseason optimism dampened by the injuries to Georginio Wijnaldum and Nicolo Zaniolo.
The Italy international was Roma's standout performer in their first two games, but after dislocating his shoulder on Monday, star signing Dybala will have to exact revenge on his former team, Inter Milan, who released him in the summer.
The Argentine forward was inconsolable as he bid Juventus supporters farewell in May. He was sitting on the Allianz Stadium pitch with Dusan Vlahovic well after the fans had left, contemplating his options after the club's administration decided to end his seven-year stay at the top club in Italy.
After protracted contract negotiations, Juve withdrew from a verbal agreement to raise his annual salary to eight million euros plus bonuses, which the club hierarchy deemed to be too expensive.
The 28-year-old was tipped to join Juve’s biggest rivals Inter Milan for most of the summer, but after they signed Romelu Lukaku, the deal became impossible to do for a club who are attempting the tricky balancing act of cutting costs while still remaining competitive.
So in swooped Roma for possibly the best value deal of the European transfer window, the capital club, and in particular Jose Mourinho, convinced a proven performer to take a fraction of what he was asking for from Juve in order to play for a team on the up.
– Allegri under fire –
Dybala will be charged with improving Roma’s record at the Allianz Stadium—one win in 12 defeats in all competitions—and they might fancy their chances this weekend against a Juve side which has failed to convince fans or pundits of their title credentials.
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