Sunday’s Serie A action kicks off at the Allianz Stadium with a ‘David vs Goliath’ clash between title-bidding Juventus and relegation-battling Cagliari. Despite the latter’s underdog status, both teams will take the field in high spirits amid a rich vein of form.
Yet to lose a competitive game since Thiago Motta replaced Massimiliano Allegri in the dugout, Juventus pulled off their most impressive victory under the ex-Bologna manager in midweek UEFA Champions League action. The Bianconeri defied Gleison Bremer’s early injury and Michele Di Gregorio’s expulsion to beat RB Leipzig 3-2 on Wednesday.
Juventus had to fight back from a goal down twice to take three points at the Red Bull Arena. After opening his Serie A account last weekend, summer signing Francisco Conceicao followed up Dusan Vlahovic’s second consecutive brace with a superb match-winner to maintain the Turin giants’ perfect European record under Motta.
Brimming with confidence following another free-scoring performance, Juventus will look to protect their unbeaten league record (W3, D3) against Cagliari. However, the visitors seem to be finding their feet under new manager Davide Nicola after an unenviable five-game start in Serie A (D2, L3).
The Sardinians found comfort in a well-deserved 1-0 Coppa Italia win against second-tier Cremonese last week before finally getting off the mark in the Italian top flight on Monday. After three consecutive league defeats, Cagliari claimed a nerve-shredding 3-2 win at newly promoted Parma to escape from the bottom three at the end of the last round.
Match Preview
Juventus
Buoyed by back-to-back triumphs for the first time since sweeping Hellas Verona and Como aside in the opening two Serie A outings, the record-time Italian champions are keen to make it three in a row for the first time under Motta. Starting this matchday only a point adrift of early pacesetters Napoli, Juventus can seek inspiration in their outrageous scoring form.
Despite three consecutive scoreless league stalemates, the Bianconeri have proved more than capable of packing up punch, with all five competitive wins they’ve posted this term seeing them score precisely three goals. Regardless of several top-flight setbacks in September, another goalless draw would be an anomaly, given the history of this fixture.
Juventus last drew 0-0 against Cagliari in 1997, suggesting fans in attendance could be in for a treat come Sunday early afternoon. Adding to this sentiment, the Turin heavyweights have netted at least two goals in all seven home league victories against this opposition since September 2016.
Cagliari
The last time Cagliari left the Allianz Stadium undefeated was in May 2015, when they held Juventus to a 1-1 draw. The visitors would undoubtedly sign up for an identical outcome before the kick-off, considering they enter this round level on points with 18th-placed Lecce despite Monday’s triumph at Stadio Ennio Tardini.
Notoriously slow out of the box, Nicola’s men head into proceedings as the only team in Serie A yet to find the net inside the opening 30 minutes of play this season. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that they’ve been trailing ‘to nil’ at the break in four of their last seven league matches, which has proved the demise of their effort to avoid the drop.
Another uninspiring first-half performance would likely lead to the extension of their dreadful away record against Juventus. However, as they’ve drawn a blank before halftime on eight of their last nine visits to Turin, it’s hard to envision them breaking that trend in this encounter, especially given Juve’s solid defensive form at home.
Team News
Juventus lost Bremer to a potentially long-term knee injury against Leipzig. Federico Gatti, who replaced him in that match, will likely partner up with Danilo at the heart of Motta’s defense on Sunday. The Brazilian ace has joined Arkadiusz Milik and Timothy Weah on the sidelines, while Paul Pogba remains inactive due to suspension.
As for Cagliari, skilled midfielder Matteo Prati is still recovering from an ankle injury. Dependable defender Matuesz Wieteska is another high-profile absentee. On top of that, there are question marks over the heads of veteran strikers Gianluca Lapadula and Leonardo Pavoletti.
Juventus vs Cagliari Potential Line-ups
Juventus (4-2-3-1): Michele Di Gregorio; Pierre Kalulu, Danilo, Federico Gatti, Andrea Cambiaso; Manuel Locatelli, Weston McKennie; Francisco Conceicao, Teun Koopmeiners, Kenan Yildiz; Dusan Vlahovic.
Cagliari (4-2-3-1): Simone Scuffet; Gabriele Zappa, Yerry Mina, Sebastiano Luperto, Obert; Antoine Makoumbou, Razvan Marin; Nadir Zortea, Gianluca Gaetano, Zito Luvumbo; Roberto Piccoli.
Juventus vs Cagliari Prediction
With Cagliari averaging just 0.66 goals per game in Serie A this season, not even the bravest traveling fans would dare to dream big ahead of this trip. Juventus are the only team in Europe’s traditional top-five leagues yet to concede a league goal in 2024/25, highlighting the scale of the task awaiting Nicola’s side on Sunday.
As such, we can easily envisage a multi-goal margin win for the hosts, likely to be accompanied by another clean sheet.
Prediction: Juventus to Win
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