Juventus players (from L to R) Paulo Dybala, Miralem Pjanic, and Neto in Melbourne for the 2016 ICC. (Photo : Getty Images)
A-League side Melbourne Victory FC will face off with five-straight Italian Serie A champions Juventus FC at the Melbourne Cricket Ground this Saturday, July 23 to kick off the Australia leg of the 2016 International Champions Cup competitions.
The friendly tournament has three legs, with the other two in China and the United States and Europe, which will run from July 22 to August 13.
Melbourne's last match was back in May, a 1-2 loss to South Korean squad Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the round-of-16 stage of the AFC Champions League. Jeonbuk defeated Victory, 2-3 on aggregate, to eliminate them in the quarterfinals, via ESPN.
Meanwhile, Juventus's most recent competitive match was also in May, during their 1-0 Coppa Italia victory over AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, as per SkySports.
The Old Lady is one of the busiest clubs in the ongoing summer transfer window and has made significant signing to further improve head coach Massimiliano Allegri's roster.
However, Juve was also stripped off of some of its star players, most notably Spanish striker Alvaro Morata, who was bought back by Real Madrid last month for €30 million.
At the moment, key players Paul Pogba and Leonardo Bonucci are being targeted by cash-rich Premier League giants Manchester United and so Allegri is not 100 percent secure of bringing back his complete lineup from last term.
Victory were the A-League titlists of the 2014-2015 season before they were unseated by Adelaide United last season.
The Blues had been struggling since late of last term and have also not experienced success in the Champions League and so head coach Kevin Muscat is looking to inspire his players by trying to top a high-profile club like Juventus even in an exhibition match.
Juve is expected to rest most of their first team players against Melbourne, but they are still a pretty formidable bunch with Paulo Dybala, Medhi Benatia, and Miralem Pjanic suiting up in the ICC.
This match is the first ever match between the two clubs and also their first friendly in the preseason, so expect a lot of assessing in the first few minutes before they eventually make their attacks.
Even if Le Zebre is actually playing a "B" squad, they are still highly-favored to win over the local team.
The predicted result is a close 2-1 win for Juventus.
Melbourne Victory starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Thomas; Geria, Ansell, Galloway, Georgievski; Broxham, Valeri, Bozanic; Austin, Berisha, Ben Khalfallah
Juventus starting lineup (3-5-2 formation): Neto; Sandro, Benatia, Rugani; Hernanes, Lemina, Asamoah, Pjanic, Pereyra; Rosseti, Dybala
