The first official match of the 2024/25 Serie A season is almost upon us, as Juventus prepare to host newly-promoted Como at the Allianz Stadium on Monday, 19 August, in a match kicking off at 20:45 CEST.
Como are back in Italy’s top-flight after 21 years, securing promotion after finishing second in Serie B last season, and face a tough test right off the bat in Turin.
Ready yourself for the Bianconeri’s first official game of the campaign with all you need to know ahead of Monday’s opener.
Head-to-head
- After losing three of their first five matches (1W, 1D) against Como in Serie A between 1949 and 1952, Juventus are unbeaten in all of their last 21 matches (12W, 9D) against Como, winning the most recent fixture at the Sinigaglia 3-1, played on 22 February 2003 .
- Juventus is the team against which Como has drawn the most matches in its Serie A history: 10 out of 26 matches, with three wins for the Larians and 13 victories for the Bianconeri completing the picture.
- Como have failed to score more than one goal in any of their last 17 Serie A matches played against Juventus (and in 11 of these, they failed to score at all). The last time they scored at least two goals in a single match against the Bianconeri dates back to 12 October 1975 in a 2-2 draw.
Interesting Facts
- Juventus have not lost in eight matches (5W, 3D) against newly-promoted teams in Serie A.
- The Bianconeri are the team that has won the most matches on Matchday 1 in the history of Serie A: 59, including seven wins in the last eight opening matchdays (1D).
- Como have only beaten Juventus once in 13 away matches (6D, 6L) in Serie A, the last coming in April 1951, when Como won 3-0.
- In the 2023/24 season, Juventus lost just one of their 19 home matches (11W, 7D) in the league – a record shared with Inter, who suffered just one home defeat as well.
- Como have not won any of their last 10 matches (2D, 8L) played on the first day of a Serie A season. Their last matchday 1 success dates back to September 1951, beating Torino 1-0.
Player Numbers
- Dusan Vlahovic scored 16 goals in 33 appearances last season, including 10 goals in 2024, making him the highest scorer in the calendar year and the only player to score double figures in goals since the start of January. The Serbian earned his team the most points across the 2023/24 season (14, thanks to his 16 total goals).
- Douglas Luiz is the Aston Villa player who, over the last two Premier League seasons, created the most goal-scoring chances (98), made the most tackles (130) and intercepted the most balls (63).
- Over the last three Ligue 1 seasons (since 2021/22), Khephren Thuram was the Nice player with the most dribbles completed (113), the most chances created (89) and the most shots (29) following a ball-carrying action. Should he score against Como, Thuram would score 7953 days after the only goal scored by his father Lilian Thuram in a Juventus shirt, on 10 November 2002, in a home match against AC Milan.
- Michele Di Gregorio is the goalkeeper who prevented the most goals (12.29) in the top five European leagues last season, with 35 goals conceded against an Expected Goals conceded value of 47.29.
- Last season, Kenan Yildiz became the youngest foreign goalscorer in the history of Juventus in Serie A. Since that date, only Yamal Lamine is younger than Yildiz among players who have scored more than three goals in the top five European tournaments (four).
Opposition Focus
- Como ended the last Serie B season with 73 points to their name, the club's third-highest haul in Serie B, after those of 1948/49 (85, considering the three points per win ever) and 2001/02 (74).
- Stefano Gori is the only player in their squad to have been on the books of both teams. The goalkeeper played 19 games, all as a starter, between the posts at Como in the 2021/22 Serie B season under Giacomo Gattuso.
- Andrea Belotti has scored five goals on the opening day of the Serie A season – among players still active, only Ciro Immobile and Luis Muriel (eight goals each) have found the net more times on matchday 1.
- Patrick Cutrone scored 14 goals last season in Serie B, one more than all of his Como teammates combined.
- Pepe Reina returns to Serie A almost three years after his last match with Lazio (vs Udinese) on 2 December 2021. The Spaniard has played 190 games in Serie A so far, with the shirts of Napoli, AC Milan and Lazio. Juventus is the team against which the former Villarreal goalkeeper has lost the most matches in the top-flight: seven out of 11 (3W, 1D).