2018/19 Season Preview: Juventus | OneFootball

The Serie A champions are back, and this time they’ve got their eyes on a bigger prize.

What does 2018/19 have in store for Cristiano Ronaldo and co? Let’s find out.

What has changed since last season?

The best team in Italy just got even better thanks to some big-name arrivals in the transfer window.

Ronaldo is, of course, the most noteworthy addition the Bianconeri have made this summer and the capture of one of the greatest players ever to have played the game could be what propels them to the next level in the Champions League.

Though it wasn’t universally popular with the Bianconeri’s supporters, Leonardo Bonucci’s return to Turin is also a big statement of intent, while the signing of João Cancelo from Valencia seems to have slipped under the radar somewhat, but could prove to be one of the shrewdest bits of business anywhere in Europe this summer.

Emre Can wasn’t a bad free transfer either.

How have they done in the transfer market?

Very well, with a couple of caveats. He may be 33, but €100m for Ronaldo still represents something of a bargain.

After losing Gianluigi Buffon this summer, Juve needed another leader in the dressing room and Ronaldo will bring that to the table, along with a guaranteed 30-50 goals-a-season. He’s still at the peak of his powers and he still has the hunger to keep going for at least another two or three years.

It’s difficult not to notice a bit of short-termism in Juve’s summer transfer policy, however. Bringing Bonucci back to club will probably pay dividends this season, but losing a potential future star in Mattia Caldara to Milan could come back to haunt them. The chances of Gonzalo Higuaín coming back to haunt his old club when Juve travel to the San Siro in early November are also pretty high.

The Bianconeri are clearly going all out for the Champions League this season but can they manage it with Wojciech Szczesny as their number one goalkeeper, and Mattia Perin as his understudy? Time will tell.

Who will be their key man?

Ronaldo, obviously.

Juve would probably have enough about them to claim another Scudetto this season even without the Portuguese superstar, but they’ve come up short in Europe in recent years and Ronaldo will be crucial to their chances bridging that gap.

Who will be their top scorer?

Again, the answer is Ronaldo. He averaged an incredible 50 goals-a-season during his time at Real Madrid, and there’s no reason he can’t rack up similar numbers at his new club.

Are there any young players we should be keeping an eye on?

If he isn’t lured away by the promise of more minutes, Moise Kean could be one to watch.

The 18-year-old impressed on loan at Hellas Verona last season and has all the makings of a top class forward. And after his solid displays at the World Cup, this could be Rodrigo Bentancur’s coming-of-age season.

What will Massimiliano Allegri’s biggest challenge be?

Winning the Champions League. Juve should win the Scudetto again with a minimum of fuss but you sense the Agnelli family would be quite happy to sacrifice further domestic success at the expense of Europe’s biggest prize.

But winning the Champions League is easier said than done, and even the addition of a player like Ronaldo is no guarantee of anything.

Allegri must deliver the Bianconeri’s first major European trophy since 1996 this season, or all those Scudettos and Coppa Italias will pretty much count for nothing. Harsh, but that’s football.

Can you show me their home and away jersey and give it a mark out of 10?

This is quite a nice jersey, but we’re not sure how we feel about those big thick stripes. Last season’s was better. 7/10.

The away jersey hasn’t been officially unveiled yet, but here’s the recycled ocean plastic third strip. It’s pretty good, but the colour and texture makes it look a bit like a garbage bag. 6/10.

What does Juve’s best XI look like?

And that’s without even mentioning Mario Mandžukić, Juan Cuadrado and Federico Bernardeschi. Frightening.

And finally, where will Juve finish in Serie A?

First. Even with Carlo Ancelotti, Napoli probably won’t be as strong as they were last season under Maurizio Sarri and none of Juve’s other competitors have done much to be afraid of this summer. It will surely be a stroll to an eighth successive Scudetto for the Old Lady.