The 2025-26 season wasn’t even cold when Serie A made a surprise announcement that the 2026-27 season schedule would be revealed a little over a week ago.
Just what the rush was is a mystery. Perhaps they wanted to get in ahead of the World Cup, which is going longer than normal this year and would give them a narrower window to announce without the tournament taking up the world’s attention. Regardless of why, we now know the fixture list for next season, and we can start to develop our first impressions.
As we’ve done here at BWRAO for many a year, we’ll give you our five most intriguing games of the Juventus’ new season on first reaction alone.
Matchday 3 vs. AC Milan
The league gave Juve a big game against a club from Milan early last season, and they’ll do it again on this year. After opening the season at newly-promoted Frosinone and then playing their home opener against Parma, AC Milan will come to Turin for Juve’s first big-ticket match of the 2026-27 campaign.
The interest in this fixture comes from the position these two clubs find themselves in. Both had a Champions League spot in their hands in the late stages of the 2025-26 season only to let it slip out of their grasp. Juve, at least, have a semblance of continuity going as they try to pick up the pieces, although that has obviously taken on a new wrinkle with Damien Comolli leaving as CEO and Giovanni Carnevali replacing him. Milan, on the other hand, have completely detonated their infrastructure, sacking Massimiliano Allegri and Igli Tare — both after only a year. At time of writing they don’t have a coach or a sporting director, and it seems that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the person making decisions. What the club might look like by the time this game comes around is anyone’s guess.
Obviously there’s a lot about Juve that is in flux as well, but nothing seems like the absolute mess that Milan are. Likely coming just before their respective Europa League league phase openers, this game will attract a lot of scrutiny because of their late faceplants — or, in Milan’s case, a months-long collapse, aside from what attention this rivalry normally gets.
If nothing else, we’ll get a first look at how Juve’s new roster, whatever it may look like, will respond to those kinds of conditions. If they can establish a positive big-game mentality early, it could buoy them for the rest of the campaign.
Matchday 13 at Como
By this point in the season, we’ll start to know how the team is coming together. We’ll also have a sense of how Como have adapted to playing in a European competition and being the hunted instead of the hunter.
Como will have to overhaul their squad over the summer to have the depth to play in three competitions. For one thing, they’ll need to add some Italians to comply with UEFA roster rules about home-grown and home-trained players. They’re also liable to be raided by teams with deep pockets, like Bologna was a few years ago when Riccardo Calafiori and others were snapped up by bigger clubs. The difference is that Como’s owner is the most independently wealthy man out of any owner in Italy, although he’s shown no interest so far in splashing around huge amounts of cash. Still, Nico Paz’s status will need to be decided by Real Madrid, who have an Alvaro Morata-style buy-back option on the attacking midfielder. How Cesc Fabregas might cope with the loss of his best player is Como’s biggest question mark.
Dual losses to Como proved decisive for Juventus in the race for the top four this past season. This will be an opportunity for Juve to show they’ve improved by taking out one of their direct competitors.
Matchday 18 vs. Torino
The first Derby della Mole of the year will start a curious mini-run that sees this game followed immediately by the Derby d’Italia in Milan the next week.
The Derby is always a high-intensity match, and the events before the game a few weeks ago might send the Ultras into overdrive for this game. That level of intensity will be another test for the mentality of the squad. Winning will also give Juve some momentum headed into the clash in the San Siro.
Matchday 28 at Lazio
This will be the middle game of a three-match span against teams that will be a tricky test at the two-thirds mark of the year. Home games between Roma and Como, which will likely carry a lot of weight in the various races at the top of the table, sandwich this match.
Lazio are a team in some turmoil lately. Maurizio Sarri decamped once again, replaced by erstwhile Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso. The club’s fans have gotten fed up with Claudio Lotito’s ownership, and have been protesting by leaving their Curva empty. Lotito’s track record makes it likely that that feud will still be going by the time this match arrives, so Juve could be facing a far less adversarial atmosphere than usual at the Stadio Olimpico.
All of that, of course, gives this game the look of a classic trap game. Juve’s focus can’t drop in this game if they want to keep their season on course.
Matchday 36 vs. Inter
A late-season Derby d’Italia is a perfect setup for some drama.
Matches with the reigning champions (barf) are always charged with plenty of emotion as it is, as this year’s Derbys showed in abundance. With any luck, Juve will be jockeying for position up toward the top of the table, giving this match even more spice than usual.
Fans won’t have forgotten the way February’s matchup went, and I would assume that Alessandro Bastoni is going to be given quite the reception.
If the season goes the way we want, this game could be the defining moment of the year. Here’s hoping.
