Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri expects his team to bounce back from their disappointing start to the season when they travel to the Italian capital to face Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.
Champions Juve were beaten 1-0 by Udinese in their Serie A opener last weekend. Roma, meanwhile, finished a distant second to the Bianconeri in the 2014-15 title race.
“Serie A is not a 100 metre race but a marathon,” Allegri told the Italian press. “You need patience to find the right rhythm.
“We know we have a great team, with players that have to grow, but we need to be given time to do so.
“We will improve game by game.
“We just have to think about working and getting back to winning ways.”
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Allegri, whose side begins their Champions League campaign at Manchester City on September 15, could hand new signing Juan Cuadrado his Juve debut at Roma. Cuadrado joined the club on a season-long loan from Chelsea this week.
Roma, who will host defending champions Barcelona in their Champions League group opener next month, are also looking for their first win of the season. The Giallorossi were held to a 1-1 draw at Hellas Verona in their league opener.
Lazio will have to put the disappointment of failing to clinch a spot in the Champions League behind them when they take on Chievo in Verona on Sunday. The Biancocelesti, who began with a 2-1 victory against Bologna, will play in the Europa League after losing 3-0 at Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.
AC Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic will be hoping the arrival of striker Mario Balotelli on loan from Liverpool can spark his team to victory on Saturday against visiting Empoli. Balotelli has returned to the Rossoneri just one year after joining Liverpool in a £16million transfer deal. In his first spell with Milan, Balotelli scored 30 times in 54 appearances.
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Milan lost their first Serie A game under Mihajlovic last week, 2-0 at Fiorentina.
Napoli also seek their first victory of the campaign and face a tough game against Sampdoria, who thrashed newly-promoted Carpi 5-2 last weekend. The Azzurri lost 2-1 at Sassuolo last time out and seek their first league success under new coach Maurizio Sarri.
Inter Milan and Fiorentina look to continue their perfect start to the season when they visit Carpi and Torino, respectively. Roberto Mancini’s Inter edged Atalanta 1-0 and Fiorentina won 2-0 against Milan, giving new Viola coach Paulo Sousa a dream Serie A debut.
Frosinone, playing in Serie A for the first time in their history, square off against Atalanta in Bergamo on Saturday, with the two teams looking to bounce back from their opening defeats. Sassuolo have suffered a blow ahead of Saturday’s trip, with Italian striker Domenico Berardi ruled out for six weeks with an ankle injury sustained in last weekend’s victory over Napoli.
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Udinese will be aiming to build on last week’s win at Juve when they host Palermo on Sunday.
Genoa, who fell 1-0 at Palermo, take on Hellas Verona at their Luigi Ferraris stadium.
