The 2025-26 season wasn\u2019t even cold when Serie A made a surprise announcement that the 2026-27 season schedule would be revealed a little over a week ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Just what the rush was is a mystery. Perhaps they wanted to get in ahead of the World Cup, which is going longer than normal this year and would give them a narrower window to announce without the tournament taking up the world\u2019s attention. Regardless of why, we now know the fixture list for next season, and we can start to develop our first impressions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
As we\u2019ve done here at BWRAO for many a year, we\u2019ll give you our five most intriguing games of the Juventus\u2019 new season on first reaction alone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The league gave Juve a big game against a club from Milan early last season, and they\u2019ll do it again on this year. After opening the season at newly-promoted Frosinone and then playing their home opener against Parma, AC Milan will come to Turin for Juve\u2019s first big-ticket match of the 2026-27 campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The interest in this fixture comes from the position these two clubs find themselves in. Both had a Champions League spot in their hands in the late stages of the 2025-26 season only to let it slip out of their grasp. Juve, at least, have a semblance of continuity going as they try to pick up the pieces, although that has obviously taken on a new wrinkle with Damien Comolli leaving as CEO and Giovanni Carnevali replacing him. Milan, on the other hand, have completely detonated their infrastructure, sacking Massimiliano Allegri and Igli Tare \u2014 both after only a year. At time of writing they don\u2019t have a coach or a sporting director, and it seems that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the person making decisions. What the club might look like by the time this game comes around is anyone\u2019s guess.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Obviously there\u2019s a lot about Juve that is in flux as well, but nothing seems like the absolute mess that Milan are. Likely coming just before their respective Europa League league phase openers, this game will attract a lot of scrutiny because of their late faceplants \u2014 or, in Milan\u2019s case, a months-long collapse, aside from what attention this rivalry normally gets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
If nothing else, we\u2019ll get a first look at how Juve\u2019s new roster, whatever it may look like, will respond to those kinds of conditions. If they can establish a positive big-game mentality early, it could buoy them for the rest of the campaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
By this point in the season, we\u2019ll start to know how the team is coming together. We\u2019ll also have a sense of how Como have adapted to playing in a European competition and being the hunted instead of the hunter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Como will have to overhaul their squad over the summer to have the depth to play in three competitions. For one thing, they\u2019ll need to add some Italians to comply with UEFA roster rules about home-grown and home-trained players. They\u2019re also liable to be raided by teams with deep pockets, like Bologna was a few years ago when Riccardo Calafiori and others were snapped up by bigger clubs. The difference is that Como\u2019s owner is the most independently wealthy man out of any owner in Italy, although he\u2019s shown no interest so far in splashing around huge amounts of cash. Still, Nico Paz\u2019s status will need to be decided by Real Madrid, who have an Alvaro Morata-style buy-back option on the attacking midfielder. How Cesc Fabregas might cope with the loss of his best player is Como\u2019s biggest question mark.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Dual losses to Como proved decisive for Juventus in the race for the top four this past season. This will be an opportunity for Juve to show they\u2019ve improved by taking out one of their direct competitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The first Derby della Mole of the year will start a curious mini-run that sees this game followed immediately by the Derby d\u2019Italia in Milan the next week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Derby is always a high-intensity match, and the events before the game a few weeks ago might send the Ultras into overdrive for this game. That level of intensity will be another test for the mentality of the squad. Winning will also give Juve some momentum headed into the clash in the San Siro.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
This will be the middle game of a three-match span against teams that will be a tricky test at the two-thirds mark of the year. Home games between Roma and Como, which will likely carry a lot of weight in the various races at the top of the table, sandwich this match.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Lazio are a team in some turmoil lately. Maurizio Sarri decamped once again, replaced by erstwhile Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso. The club\u2019s fans have gotten fed up with Claudio Lotito\u2019s ownership, and have been protesting by leaving their Curva empty. Lotito\u2019s track record makes it likely that that feud will still be going by the time this match arrives, so Juve could be facing a far less adversarial atmosphere than usual at the Stadio Olimpico.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
All of that, of course, gives this game the look of a classic trap game. Juve\u2019s focus can\u2019t drop in this game if they want to keep their season on course.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A late-season Derby d\u2019Italia is a perfect setup for some drama.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Matches with the reigning champions (barf) are always charged with plenty of emotion as it is, as this year\u2019s Derbys showed in abundance. With any luck, Juve will be jockeying for position up toward the top of the table, giving this match even more spice than usual.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Fans won\u2019t have forgotten the way February\u2019s matchup went, and I would assume that Alessandro Bastoni is going to be given quite the reception.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n