It is not the ideal day for Cristiano Ronaldo's Serie A debut as Italy is mourning for the victims of the Genoa bridge disaster, which has shaken the nation.
Nonetheless, it is an important day for Italian football as the Serie A in the 2018/19 season promises to return to the global spotlight following the arrival for one of football's biggest superstars to Juventus.
The Turin-based club are the overwhelming favourites to defend their Serie A title for a seventh successive time. They open their campaign against Chievo, who finished 13th in the 2017/18 season.
When is the match and how to watch it live
The Serie A opener between Chievo and Juventus will start at 6 pm local time, 9:30 pm IST and 5 pm BST.
Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 2 will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Sony Liv.
Ronaldo will start in Chievo
All eyes will be on Ronaldo as coach Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed that his superstar signing will make the Serie A debut on Saturday. The Portuguese skipper was not part of the pre-season tour but has trained with the squad enough to be match ready on the big day.
Despite not having Ronaldo, Juventus impressed in the pre-season, beating Bayern Munich and Benfica before facing a defeat to Real Madrid.
Ronaldo's presence will be a big boost to the side that is going to face the burden of expectations this season.
Allegri, in a bid to help his side claim Champions League glory, made some quality signings in the summer transfer window as the likes of Emre Can, Leonardo Bonucci and Joao Cancelo joined the Serie A giants.
Allegri warned his team against complacency, saying it's not a given that they are going to dominate European football due to the arrival of Ronaldo.
"However, we must not think that just because we've got Ronaldo, we'll win. We still need to prove that Juventus are technically better now. We're going to have to put our hearts into it and have passion and determination, but in all of this, we are going to have to work," Allegri was quoted as saying by ESPN.
Chievo vs Juventus: Team News
Chievo
Probable starting lineup: Seculin, Rossettini, Tomovic, Cacciatore, Jaroszynski, Birsa, Rigoni, Hetemaj, Radovanovic, Giaccherini, Stepinski
Juventus
Probable starting lineup: Szczesny; Sandro, Chiellini, Bonucci, Cancelo; Pjanic, Matuidi, Can; Costa, Dybala, Ronaldo
Serie A 2018/19: Global TV guide
- UK: Eleven Sports 1 UK
- US: ESPN+
- Argentina: Rai Italia America
- Australia: TV - beIN Sports 1; Live stream: beIN Sports Connect
- China: QQ Sports Live, PPTV Sport China
- Italy: Sky Calcio 1; Live stream: Sky Go Italia
