Standard vs Juventus: Douglas Luiz returns for pre-season test
Brings Luciano Spalletti his first real pre-season test as Douglas Luiz returns to midfield and Juventus name a thin squad in Belgium. Standard vs juventus —…
STANDARD VS JUVENTUS takes place on Saturday evening in Belgium, with Juventus facing Standard Liege in a pre-season friendly at the Maurice Dufrasne Stadium. The match kicks off at 19.00 BST.
It is Luciano Spalletti’s first real test of pre-season. Juventus arrive short on senior options, while Douglas Luiz returns to the midfield for a game that offers an early look at how thin the squad remains.
Douglas Luiz back in the middle
Douglas Luiz is back in the Juventus midfield as the Bianconeri prepare for the trip to Standard Liege. He starts in a central role alongside Manuel Locatelli, giving Spalletti at least one familiar name in the engine room.
That matters because Juventus are still missing a core group of players. According to the source material, Gleison Bremer, Khephren Thuram, Kenan Yildiz, Francisco Conceicao and Jonathan David are all unavailable this evening, leaving the coach with limited room to rotate.
Reports earlier this week said Spalletti felt he had only had three or four “starters” available to him in the early stages of pre-season. The same reports added that he was beginning to become slightly frustrated at the lack of reinforcements available to him.
Short benches tell a story fast. This one does too.
Juventus lean on youth and makeshift options
Juventus are so short on strikers that Lois Openda has been included in the matchday squad, even though he is on the verge of signing for Lyon on a season-long loan deal. He does not start, though. Instead, 18-year-old Arman Durmisi leads the line.
Behind him, Vasilije Adzic and Jeremie Boga are set to operate in attack. Andrea Cambiaso and youngster Adin Licina line up at wing-back, while Pierre Kalulu, Federico Gatti and Lloyd Kelly form the back three.
Juventus’s confirmed line-up also includes Michele Di Gregorio in goal, with Mattia Di Gregorio listed as the starting goalkeeper in the source and Locatelli wearing the captain’s armband. The bench features Fabio Miretti, João Mário, Joao Mario, Christian Pinsoglio, D. Elimoghale, J. Oboavwoduo, and other listed substitutes from the team sheet.
The shape is clear. Juventus want minutes, not glamour, from this friendly. For Spalletti, the priority is building rhythm with the players available rather than waiting for a full-strength group that has not yet returned.
Why this friendly matters now
For supporters, the match offers a snapshot of Juventus’s early-season status. The club’s official website or app will stream the game for free after registration, while viewers in Italy can watch on Sky Sport Italia and Now TV with a subscription.
That access makes the game easy to follow, but the real value sits on the pitch. Juventus have already played one summer friendly since pre-season started, drawing 0-0 away at Basel last weekend. This meeting with Standard Liege gives Spalletti another chance to see which combinations work and which ones need more time.
Standard Liege, meanwhile, provide the opposition in a fixture that sits inside a busy day of summer friendlies involving Serie A clubs. Milan are also in action away to Celtic, and other clubs including Fiorentina, Sassuolo, Lecce and Torino are playing too.
For Juventus, though, the focus stays narrow. A squad that is missing several core players and has one senior centre-forward in the squad cannot hide much in Belgium. The game will show how far the team has to go before the real work starts.
The clearest detail remains the same: Standard Liege-Juventus starts at 19.00 BST, and Douglas Luiz is back in the Juventus midfield for Spalletti’s first real pre-season examination.
