It will be a first meeting with momentum on the line when Juventus and NEC Nijmegen when they clash at the Allianz Stadium on Thursday.
Juventus’s latest setback exposed the central question of this UEFA Europa League opener. Can Luciano Spalletti’s men impose their defensive discipline without losing the attacking urgency that leaves it vulnerable? The 3-2 defeat to Sassuolo followed a 1-1 draw with AC Milan, while NEC Nijmegen arrive after a 3-0 loss to SC Cambuur.
It is a first meeting between the clubs, and the contrast is clear. Juventus need a convincing start to calm a difficult moment, while NEC begin their European campaign with room to compete rather than a quantified table demand hanging over them.
For Juventus, victory would turn a two-match winless run into a useful European reset. A draw would leave the recent stumble unresolved, while another defeat would increase the pressure around Spalletti and make the defensive concerns from the Sassuolo game harder to dismiss.
Their recent attacking work has produced chances without always producing control, and the manager has acknowledged that a lack of movement away from the ball has pushed them towards low-percentage attempts and isolated dribbles. The return of Andrea Cambiaso and Weston McKennie gives the squad more options, although neither is expected to walk straight into the starting eleven.
NEC Nijmegen’s equation is different. Their opener is a chance to measure the progress of a club that finished third in the Eredivisie and reached the KNVB Cup final last season. However, their recent run has been uncomfortable: a draw with Excelsior and defeats to Feyenoord and SC Cambuur.
The away side’s confidence comes from that breakthrough campaign and from Dick Schreuder’s established project, instead of experiencing doubt in their current run. NEC should therefore try to compete without turning the match into an unprotected chase, especially after conceding heavily in the recent run.
Team News: Juventus retain the double pivot; NEC patch the right side
Jeremie Boga, Manuel Locatelli, Juan Cabal, Kenan Yildiz, and Jeff Ekhator are unavailable for Juventus. Locatelli’s absence removes a familiar midfield option, while Yildiz and Boga reduce the depth around the attacking line. The home side should retain the 4-2-3-1 setup, with Douglas Luiz and Teun Koopmeiners forming the double pivot and Nico Gonzalez operating between the lines.
Koopmeiners, despite being a rotation option, will provide balance to the whole side. Guglielmo Vicario is expected to feature between the sticks, with Pierre Kalulu, Gleison Bremer, Jhon Lucumi, and Zeki Celik forming the back four.
Francisco Conceicao should start from the right flank, where his direct running gives the shape its clearest way to attack without abandoning the midfield platform. Kerim Alajbegovic is likely to feature on the left wing, with Randal Kolo Muani leading the line for Juventus against NEC Nijmegen.
Probable Juventus Lineup (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Kalulu, Bremer, Lucumi, Celik; Koopmeiners, Luiz; Conceicao, Gonzalez, Alajbegovic; Kolo Muani
Probable NEC Nijmegen Lineup (3-4-1-2): Polster; Storm, Nuytinck, Kaba; Mor, Nejasmic, Monteiro, Bischoff; Chery; Tadic, Serhuis
The visitors have Gonzalo Crettaz, Isak Hansen-Aaroen, Adam Tahaui, Freek Entius, Yassin Moslih and Bryan Linssen unavailable. Nikolas Polster should start in goal, behind Tobias Storm, Bram Nuytinck and Almugera Kabar in a 3-4-1-2.
Meanwhile, Jamiro Monteiro and Darko Nejasmic should form the midfield pair, with Nejasmic carrying the stronger recent form and preserving continuity on the right side.
Tjaronn Chery is expected to play behind Kaj Sierhuis and Dusan Tadic. Chery’s form has made him NEC’s most important link between midfield and the front two, and he will also take penalties. Tadic gives the attack an experienced central reference, while Sierhuis fits the second-forward role.
Clement Bischoff should hold the left wing-back position, although his recent form leaves that side under pressure. The right wing-back role is the one selection that most clearly reflects the absences rather than NEC’s preferred balance, with Emre Mor likely to feature there.
Tactics: Gonzalez and Chery decide who owns the space between the lines
Juventus’s projected 4-2-3-1 setup is built to carry the match forward with two central midfielders behind a wide attacking line and Nico Gonzalez available between the lines. The shape suits a side that wants initiative without leaving the centre completely unprotected.
The Bianconeri have averaged 56% possession across their last four matches, compared with NEC’s 52.4% across their five most recent outings. So, the recent numbers point to a modest home advantage in territorial control rather than a one-sided command.
NEC’s 3-4-1-2 system keeps two forwards high and places Tjaronn Chery in the central position. That gives them a direct route into the attack, but it also places a lot of responsibility on the wing-backs to provide width around the back three. Their recent attacking baseline has been less convincing than Juventus’s, while their defensive record has been the greater concern.
NEC produced 1.09 expected goals per match this term while conceding 2.27, whereas Juventus conceded 0.46. Those figures describe recent output rather than a permanent identity, but they explain why NEC are more likely to protect the structure before opening it up. The tactical meeting is therefore not simply possession against counterplay.
Juventus will try to pin the wing-backs with Francisco Conceicao and Kerim Alajbegovic, then use Nico Gonzalez to connect the wide attacks to Randal Kolo Muani. NEC need Chery to receive behind the Juventus midfield and keep Dusan Tadic and Kaj Sierhuis involved. If their wing-backs remain too deep, the front two may become isolated; if they advance too early and Juventus escape the first pressure, the spaces beside the three centre-backs become available.
The main duel is Gonzalez against Chery. Gonzalez must connect Juventus’s attacking midfield to Kolo Muani while remaining close enough to the double pivot to avoid opening the centre. Chery, in stronger recent form, needs to find the pockets between the home side’s midfield and defence and keep NEC’s two forwards connected to the rest of the team.
If Gonzalez controls that link, Juventus can attack with their intended structure and still retain cover behind the ball. If Chery wins it, the Bianconeri may be forced to protect the middle rather than impose the game, allowing NEC to preserve the two-forward arrangement that gives them their best attacking route.
There is a second layer behind that contest. Pierre Kalulu’s duel with Clement Bischoff will decide whether NEC can keep their left outlet alive. The Frenchman should be able to support the hosts’ pressure from the right, while Bischoff has to advance enough to give NEC width but not so far that the space behind him becomes an invitation.
If Kalulu pins him back, the away side may have to abandon the balance of the 3-4-1-2 setup. If Bischoff escapes the first pressure, Juventus could find themselves defending a more open match than their selected shape is designed to allow.
Prediction: Juventus have the stronger platform, but not a free pass
We are leaning towards a Juventus win, held with medium confidence rather than certainty. The hosts have the clearer defensive platform and the more favourable recent attacking profile. Their recent average of 1.44 expected goals for is higher than NEC’s 1.09, and their average of 0.46 expected goals against compares favourably with the away side’s 2.27.
Juventus have also kept two clean sheets in their last four matches, which gives them a stronger base than NEC’s recent run, in which they have kept none. The important distinction is that Juventus do not need to dominate every phase to win this game. If Gleison Bremer and Jhon Lucumi deal with the two forwards and Nico Gonzalez receives often enough between the lines, the home side should create the more repeatable pressure.
Lean: Juventus win
Range: 2-0/2-1/1-1
The strongest case against the home call is NEC escaping that first pressure. Tjaronn Chery can connect the midfield to Dusan Tadic and Kaj Sierhuis, while the wing-backs can stretch Juventus’s wide defensive responsibilities. If the home side’s double pivot is pulled apart, their proactive approach could reproduce the exposure seen in the Sassuolo defeat.
That is the route to an open game in which NEC’s attacking structure becomes more dangerous than the recent defensive numbers suggest. The likely scoreline range is 2-0, 2-1 or 1-1. The most attractive footballing interpretation is a narrow Juventus victory, but the draw remains a live outcome if the visitors keep Chery involved and prevent the home side from turning territorial control into clear chances.
Dick Schreuder can change the attacking picture without sacrificing the back three
The late tactical lever belongs to NEC. If the first half leaves Chery crowded and the two forwards disconnected, Schreuder can move from the 3-4-1-2 to a 3-4-2-1, adding a second advanced connector behind a lone striker. That would give NEC another route through the middle and reduce their dependence on the wing-backs creating every attacking connection, but it would also ask them to give up some of the penalty-box presence that makes the starting shape dangerous.
