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May 9, 2015 at 5pm UK
 
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Preview: Juventus vs. Cagliari Calcio

:Headline: Preview: Juventus vs. Cagliari Calcio: ID:221467: from db_amp
Sports Mole looks ahead to this weekend's Serie A match between Juventus and Cagliari.

Juventus will be looking to maintain their good run of form when they take on Cagliari Calcio in Turin on Saturday evening.

The Bianconeri wrapped up the Serie A title last weekend and may have one eye on their Champions League visit to Real Madrid, while their opponents are fighting for survival.



Juventus

It has been a great week to be a fan of Juventus, with the club enjoying success at home and in Europe, and their hopes of landing a historic treble are still firmly on track.

The club finally got their hands on a fourth straight league title last weekend, as Arturo Vidal's header gave them a 1-0 victory over Sampdoria.

There was never any doubt that Massimiliano Allegri's side would land the Scudetto and they have been on top of the Serie A table for all but the first three weeks of the season.

They have also been able to take their outstanding league form into Europe and they are now just one game away from the Champions League final, after claiming a 2-1 win over holders Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final clash on Tuesday evening.

Alvaro Morata gave the Bianconeri an early lead, before Cristiano Ronaldo headed in the equaliser. However, a second-half penalty from Carlos Tevez means that they have a crucial advantage going into next week's return meeting at the Bernabeu.

Due to the magnitude of that tie, Allegri is expected to rest a number of key players this weekend, so the likes of Tevez and Andrea Pirlo will probably begin on the bench. That rotation policy has been evident in recent weeks, but wholesale changes to the starting lineup have contributed to defeats at Parma and Torino.

Recent form in Serie A: WLWLWW
Recent form (all competitions): WDLWWW



Cagliari

Cagliari's hopes of staying in the top flight are hanging by a thread, but if their recent form is anything to go by, then they may just have a chance of staying up.

They looked dead and buried just a couple of weeks ago and a 3-0 defeat at home to Napoli saw them lose for the ninth time in 11 games and led to Zdenek Zeman being sacked for the second time this season.

Former Middlesbrough defender Gianluca Festa was then appointed as their manager and it has signalled a remarkable turn in fortunes. In his first game in charge, the club pulled off a shock 3-1 victory away to Europa League semi-finalists Fiorentina.

The Rossoblu were then narrowly beaten by Chievo, but they bounced back to claim a thumping 4-0 win over Parma on Monday evening to move to within six points of Atalanta, with four games of the season left to play.

Having lost both of their meetings with Atalanta this season, they cannot afford to finish level on points with the Nerazzurri due to Serie A using the head-to-head records between teams to separate them.

It means that Cagliari must pick up at least seven points from their remaining games, but even that may not keep them in the top flight. Few would expect them to earn a result at Juventus, but with home games against Palermo and Udinese to come and a clash with fellow strugglers Cesena, they still have a fighting chance.

Recent form: LLLWLW



Team News

Juventus are expected to make a number of changes to their side ahead of the trip to the Bernabeu.

It means that Roberto Pereyra, Alessandro Matri and Simone Padoin could all be handed starts.

Meanwhile, Cagliari will have to make do without Daniele Dessena and Paul-Jose M'Poku, who are both serving one-match bans.

However, Duje Cop should keep his place in the attack, after scoring three goals in his last three games.

Juventus possible starting lineup:
Buffon, Padoin, Bonucci, Chiellini, De Ceglie, Vidal, Marchisio, Sturaro, Pereyra, Matri, Llorente

Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Brkic, Pisano, Ceppitelli, Diakite, Avelar, Ekdal, Crisetig, Donsah, Cossu, Cop, Farias



Head To Head

Juventus made light work of Cagliari when these teams met earlier this season, as they cruised to a 3-1 victory in Sardinia.

The Bianconeri have not tasted defeat in their previous 11 games against the Rossoblu, with nine of those meetings ending in victories.

There is usually plenty of excitement whenever these teams play each other and there have been 19 goals in their last five clashes.


We say: Juventus 2-0 Cagliari

Juventus will be heavy favourites to beat Cagliari and it should be a party atmosphere in Turin after last week's title victory. They may not be at full strength, with such a huge game against Real Madrid looming, but we think that Allegri's side should have enough quality to claim the points.



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4Lazio1711153224834
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6Juventus17710028131531
7Bologna167722318528
8AC Milan167542516926
9Udinese166281925-620
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12Torino175481722-519
13Genoa173771426-1216
14Lecce174491129-1816
15Parma173682333-1015
16Como163671828-1015
17Hellas VeronaHellas Verona1750122140-1915
18CagliariCagliari173591628-1214
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