Serie A returns this weekend and with Napoli sitting top of the league, Juventus have work to do if they are to retain their title this season.
Max Allegri’s team start their match at Cagliari in second place and could be 4 points adrift of the leaders by the time the match kicks-off, if Napoli win their home match as expected against Hellas Verona.
Cagliari are currently involved in a relegation battle at the bottom of the Serie A table and know a win in this match would be a bonus 3 points and a massive step towards securing safety.
Cagliari start this match in 15th place in Serie A, with 20 points to their name and that leaves them 5 points clear of the relegation zone. They won their last Serie A match of 2017, defeating Atalanta away from home, which was an excellent result.
However, trends show that was Cagliari’s first win in their last six Serie A matches and they need to become more consistent if they are to pull away from the bottom of the table.
It has been three matches since the Cagliari faithful have seen a home win, having drawn one and lost two of their last three games. The draw was 2-2 with Sampdoria and the losses were 3-1 and 1-0 against Inter Milan and Fiorentina respectively.
Cagliari have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last eight home Serie A games.
Juventus are back in form and have remained unbeaten in their last six Serie A matches. They have also progressed to the semi-final of the Coppa Italia, thanks to a 2-0 win over Torino and despite not having things all their own way this season, the Old Lady can still win the double.
Trends show Juventus have lost only one of their last seventeen games in all competitions and are undefeated in their last ten. Away from home in Serie A, they have lost only one match which came at Sampdoria in November. Since that defeat, Juventus have won three away league games in a row, beating Napoli, Bologna and Hellas Verona.
Team news and Cagliari will be without the injured duo of Daniele Dessena and Senna Miangue due to injury. The home team also have doubts over the fitness of Nicolo Barella and Alessio Cragno plus Joao Pedro is suspended.
Juventus will travel without German central defender Benedikt Howedes and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Striker Gonzalo Higuain should come back into the starting XI having been on the bench against Torino in the Coppa Italia.
Cagliari are a team who have struggled when coming up against the top five teams in Serie A this season and this match is set to be no different. Juventus are hitting a good run of form right now and could come away with maximum points and a clean sheet.