Juventus go into Juventus vs Rennes after a 3-0 home defeat to Lazio, and the mood around Luciano Spalletti has already turned sharp. Juventus are eighth in Serie A with 11 points from 7 games, yet they remain top of the Europa League with 6 points from 2 matches. That split is why Thursday's game feels less like a routine group assignment and more like a test of whether the side can keep its European rhythm while the domestic form stays messy.

Spalletti's selection problem

Gazzetta dello Sport, quoted by So Foot in French, said: "Zhegrova, left out of the UEFA list, thought (hoped) he would start against Lazio; Gatti and Kelly, in Europe, did not look good, partly because of their lack of habit of being in the spotlight, while those who are used to it, Bremer and Lucumí, are struggling to establish themselves; Cambiaso, sometimes starter, sometimes on the bench, is not finding his old rhythm again; Koopmeiners has never found it."

That is a messy picture, and it matches the numbers. Juventus have won all of their last four European home matches, scoring 12 goals and conceding just two, but the domestic returns have been far weaker, with only 9 league goals and 8 conceded in Serie A. The issue is not just the result against Lazio. It is whether Spalletti can settle on a side that looks coherent in both competitions.

Gazzetta also said, through So Foot, that "going all the way in the cup is worth a ticket to the Champions League." That is the European incentive hanging over the tie. Rennes are not arriving to make life easy either, even if their domestic form has been volatile under Franck Haise.

Rennes' defensive numbers

Rennes have conceded only one goal in two Europa League matches, and their underlying figures are even stronger. They rank first among the 36 teams for expected goals against at 0.79 and for fewest shots faced at 13. That is a serious European defensive base, even if their Ligue 1 form has not been as clean.

They are sixth in Ligue 1 with 15 goals scored and 14 conceded, and they come into this game after a 4-3 loss to Paris FC in a seven-goal league match. Their last Europa League outing was more controlled, a 2-1 win over OFI Crete sealed by a late winner from Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal. Juventus have the stronger European position, but Rennes have the defensive profile to make this awkward if the hosts are sloppy again.

The first meeting between the clubs since 1999 arrives with both sides carrying questions, though Juventus' are louder because of the Lazio defeat and the gap between their domestic and European starts. If Spalletti gets the balance right, the match should stay in Juventus' control. If he does not, Rennes have already shown enough in Europe to punish the cracks on 22 October.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →