5 Key Games for Juventus in the 1st Half of 2015-16 Serie A Season

Serie A swings back into action this weekend, and the prospect of a fifth straight title for Juventus is a very real one.

Last season's beaten Champions League finalists might have lost the likes of Carlos Tevez, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal over the summer, but in Paulo Dybala, Sami Khedira, Mario Mandzukic and others they've made some pretty exciting additions. It would be no surprise if the Old Lady were to lead from the front from the start of the new campaign.

To do that, though, they'll need a strong start as they navigate their way through the first half of the season, with these key fixtures being hugely important in their attempts to do so.

All dates subject to change due to television times or European commitments 

Roma vs. Juventus, 30 August 2015

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Serie A isn't messing around this season, and in just the second week of the campaign we've got a meeting of last season's top two.

In the Premier League, last year's runners-up Manchester City overwhelmed reigning champions Chelsea 3-0 when they met last week in a similar arrangement to this one, but Juventus will approach this game knowing that keeping their hosts quiet will be the main aim.

Roma might have been the closest challengers to Juve in 2014/15, but they still ended the campaign 17 points behind them. Max Allegri's side will approach this game knowing that a repeat of March's 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico will be a perfectly acceptable result, as they bid to avoid going the same way as Chelsea did.

Napoli vs. Juventus, 27 September 2015

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Trips to the Stadio San Paolo are never easy, and Juventus have made a habit of proving that in recent years.

Juve won 3-1 there last season in one of the more convincing displays of the gap in quality between them and one of the better teams in the division, but that was their first victory at Napoli's home in 10 attempts. This clash promises to be another tough examination so early into the season and hot on the heels of that trip to Rome.

The departure of Rafael Benitez has seen Napoli take on a new direction under new boss Maurizio Sarri, who enters the job having had just one season of Serie A experience under his belt with Empoli.

This fixture won't decide whether his Napoli tenure stands or falls, but an early win over Juve would certainly give it a great kick-start.

Inter vs. Juventus, 18 October 2015

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Three of Juve's first four away games of the new campaign are against some of the traditional powers of Italian football, and this trip to the San Siro for the Derby d'Italia will be the last of them.

There appears to be a renewed sense of optimism at Inter following the impressive signings of players such as Geoffrey Kondogbia, Miranda, Stevan Jovetic and Martin Montoya. Roberto Mancini will be hoping that this is the campaign that he can steer one of the great names of European football back to the top.

Just like the earlier visits to Roma and Napoli, taking a point from this trip really wouldn't represent a bad result for Juve, who will be happy to get these three tricky away fixtures out of the way so early on. 

Lazio vs. Juventus, 6 December 2015

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They may have been seen off 2-0 in the Italian Super Cup match in Shanghai earlier this month thanks to quickfire goals from Mandzukic and Dybala, but that doesn't change the fact that a trip to Lazio is always a difficult one.

The Romans perhaps surprised many with their feats last season, but with this fixture falling six games after that difficult early run, Juve will hope to have hit their stride by the time they enter the capital.

Stefano Pioli hasn't been too active in the transfer market this summer, but he'll hope that a largely settled squad will be able to handle the demands of European football easily, and that his side don't lose any of the tenacity that saw them impress so many last season.

Having said that, it is now 12 years since Lazio beat Juventus in a Serie A match, but that run has to end some time, right?

Juventus vs. Fiorentina, 13 December 2015

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A week on from that trip to Rome, and just when the group stages of the Champions League come to a close, comes this fixture with a Fiorentina now under the tutelage of former FC Basel boss Paulo Sousa.

The Viola's transfer-window headlines have largely centred on who has gone out rather than come in, but Mario Suarez is the standout addition to a squad which did well to finish fourth last season under Vincenzo Montella.

Last season, this fixture produced a thrilling 3-2 victory for the hosts at Juventus Stadium in April, extending a seven-match unbeaten home run for the visitors against the team from Florence.

They'll have every confidence in making that eight, but are unlikely to have things all their own way.