Juventus have not exactly drifted into Thursday evening with serenity, but Luciano Spalletti has at least chosen a line-up that says he wants to attack the problem rather than tiptoe around it. Kolo Muani and Woltemade will start together against Rennes at the Allianz Stadium, a decision that feels bold on the surface and entirely logical once you look at the standings and the mood around the club.
Juventus sit top of the Europa League league phase with six points from two games, and that matters. The opening-night 5-0 win over NEC and last week’s 2-1 victory against Celta Vigo have put them in a strong position, even if the team’s domestic picture is far messier. After Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat to Lazio, the club held a meeting the next day to talk through what went wrong. That is not the behaviour of a side pretending everything is fine. It is the behaviour of a squad that knows standards have dropped and needs to say it out loud.
A selection that fits the moment
Spalletti’s decision to use Kolo Muani and Woltemade together is interesting because it signals intent. Juventus do not need to stumble through this match and hope the standings keep them comfortable. They are already in a position of strength, so the next step is to show they can back up their results with something more convincing than survival football. Woltemade has scored in both of Juventus’ Europa League games so far, which makes his place easy to justify. Kolo Muani, meanwhile, is at the centre of a selection that suggests Spalletti wants more direct threat and less hesitation in the final third.
That said, the backdrop cannot be ignored. Juventus have already suffered two defeats in Serie A after seven games, and the Lazio loss was severe enough to force an internal reset. Randal Kolo Muani tried to calm the noise by saying, “I don’t think we lack character,” which is fair enough, but character is only useful if it shows up when the match starts to turn. Against Rennes, Juventus will need more than a statement of belief. They will need a performance that makes the standings look like a platform rather than a disguise.
That is why this Thursday at 17:45 BST feels more revealing than routine. Juventus are still where they want to be in the Europa League, but the standings are only part of the story. The real question is whether this team can turn a strong start into something sharper, more convincing and less reliant on post-defeat soul-searching. Spalletti has made his call. Now Juventus have to make it look smart.
