Cagliari will be ready to continue their fight for salvation against 2014/15 Serie A champions Juventus at the Juventus Stadium in Turin on Saturday.
The Bianconeri have already clinched the Scudetto for the current campaign following their 1-0 win over Sampdoria on May 2 and have now turned their main focus towards their Champions League run, having secured a 2-1 victory against Real Madrid in their first leg semi-final clash in Turin on Tuesday, which will certainly provide a boost ahead of their meeting with the Rossoblu. Juve’s last Serie A loss at home came against Sampdoria in January 2013, proving that Cagliari will indeed have their work cut out for them.
The Isolani will also be entering Saturday’s match in high spirits following their impressive 4-0 triumph over Parma on Monday, which has put them on 27 points, and leaves them six points away from possibly catching up with 17th place Atalanta and attaining safety. Cagliari haven’t been at their best on the road this season, winning only three away games since the start of the campaign and losing four out of their last five, though their most recent road victory came in an impressive 3-1 result over Fiorentina on April 26.
Juve have the clear advantage over Cagliari when it comes securing a win in recent seasons as they have won nine out of their last 11 meetings with the Rossoblu, including the previous clash between the two teams back in December which ended in a 3-1 win for the Old Lady. The Sardi have gone a long while without earning all three points against Juventus, with their last win coming in a 2-0 result at home back in November 2009.
Massimiliano Allegri will have most of the Bianconeri players available to him but will still be missing Martin Caceres and Kwadwo Asamoah due to injury, with Romulo and Paul Pogba set to undergo evaluations for their own respective injuries.
There are currently no Juventus players serving a suspension though Paolo De Ceglie, Arturo Vidal, Roberto Pereyra, Giorgio Chiellini, Stefano Sturaro and Stephan Lichtsteiner all sit on the verge of picking up a one-match ban due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Cagliari boss Gianluca Festa will also have almost his entire squad at his disposal with no serious injuries currently troubling his roster, though Paul-Jose M’Poku and Daniele Dessena will be out serving suspensions.
Marco Sau, Luca Ceppitelli, Alejandro Gonzalez and Diego Farias all just sit one yellow card offence away from landing suspensions of their own and will have to be cautious with their actions against the Turin giants.
Form Guide: Juventus (W-W-W-L-D-W) Cagliari (W-L-W-L-L-L)
Expected Starting XIs
Juventus: Buffon; Evra, Bonucci, Barzagli, Lichtsteiner; Sturaro, Marchisio, Vidal; Pereyra; Llorente, Tevez.
Cagliari: Brkic; Avelar, Diakite, Ceppitelli, F. Pisano; Donsah, Crisetig, Ekdal; Cossu; Farias, Cop.
