Juventus Turin will look to underline their superior squad depth when they travel to Standard de Liege for a high-profile pre-season friendly at Stade Maurice Dufrasne on 25 July (18:00 GMT), in a match billed locally as a major early examination for both sides.
The game in Liege forms part of both clubs’ final tuning before competitive action resumes, with Standard aiming to build confidence at home and Juventus focused on sharpening tactical automatisms after a packed programme of summer friendlies.
Burkinabe analyst Mahamad Sangare, presenter of the debate show La VAR on Burkina info TV, has tipped Juventus as slight favourites despite home advantage for Standard, highlighting what he views as a higher overall level of quality and experience in the Italian side’s squad.
Standard seek lift after mixed build-up
Standard de Liege approach the fixture on the back of an inconsistent set of pre-season results. Their most recent outing ended in a 2-0 defeat, a setback the Belgian club nonetheless see as a useful source of lessons before the new campaign.
Coach Vincent Euvrard will be without Togolese defender Josue Homawoo, who is injured and unavailable. Aside from that absence, Standard are expected to have a full group at their disposal.
Euvrard is likely to lean on several in-form players as he refines his starting XI, with Timothee Nkada, Casper Nielsen, Rafiki Said and goalkeeper Matthieu Epolo all expected to have prominent roles against Juventus. The match is also viewed within the club as a chance to further assess the integration of new signings in front of their own supporters.
Playing at Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Standard are considered capable of troubling Juventus defensively, with Sangare judging that the Belgian side “possesses the arguments necessary to find the back of the net”, particularly with the backing of their home crowd and a commitment to proactive football.
Juventus target sharper edge in Belgium
Juventus, for their part, continue to build rhythm and fitness through a sequence of warm-up games. Their most recent friendly ended in a goalless draw, a result that has allowed coach Luciano Spalletti to keep fine-tuning his team’s structure before competitive fixtures begin.
Spalletti travels to Belgium with what is described as a high-quality squad and substantial strength in depth. Only young player Jeff Ekhator is ruled out through injury; all of the club’s key summer signings and headline names are available.
Among those expected to feature are Lois Openda, Jonathan David, Jeremie Boga, Khephren Thuram and Francisco Conceicao – attacking options seen as capable of delivering “a high-level spectacle” for the Belgian public. With such resources, Sangare considers it a realistic scenario that Juventus could score at least twice in Liege, even with both teams still short of peak form.
The Italian side’s coaching staff are also keen to distribute minutes across the squad, using the fixture as a further opportunity to embed tactical principles and assess combinations in different areas of the pitch.
Historical edge for the Italian visitors
This will be the fourth meeting between Standard de Liege and Juventus Turin ahead of the friendly on 25 July 2026.
The clubs first faced each other in the last 16 of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup in 1982, before meeting again in a friendly in 2022. Juventus hold the upper hand historically, with two wins from the three encounters. Standard have never beaten the Italian giants, with the other match ending in a draw.
That record, combined with Juventus’ squad depth, underpins Sangare’s view that “the Turinese seem to have the necessary arguments to win at the end of this clash”, even though he acknowledges that Standard’s attacking potential at home makes a goal for the Belgian side a “credible” outcome.
Transfer undercurrents around both clubs
The fixture comes amid transfer activity involving both sides.
Juventus are positioning themselves for a move for Jean-Philippe Mateta, while Standard de Liege have stepped up their pursuit of Tawfik Bentayeb. However, Union Touarga are currently adopting a wait-and-see stance over the player’s future.
While these transfer situations are not expected to affect the availability of the squads for the friendly, they form part of the broader context as both clubs look to strengthen before the new season – and as players on the pitch in Liege seek to convince their respective coaches with strong pre-season performances.
Odds quoted for the match, including markets such as a Juventus win and the Italians scoring at least twice, are subject to change.
