After winning five games from six without conceding a goal, Juventus have announced themselves as genuine Scudetto contenders, and they tackle in-form Cagliari on Saturday evening.
Juve have ascended to second in the Serie A standings by grimly grinding out results; meanwhile, their Sardinian counterparts have scored eight times across three recent wins.
Match preview
© Reuters
Enjoying their best start to a season since last winning the title back in 2019-20, Juventus are the closest challengers to Serie A leaders Inter after 11 matches - and their remarkable defensive record is largely to thank.
No team has recorded more clean sheets than the Bianconeri across Europe's top five leagues - eight, alongside Ligue 1 club Nice - and their current streak of six on the spin represents the best such tally since they posted eight-in-a-row themselves between October 2022 and January 2023.
Max Allegri's men most recently shut up shop against Fiorentina at Stadio Artemio Franchi, where Fabio Miretti's early goal on the break provided a platform for the visitors to sit deep and frustrate their dominant hosts last weekend.
Having also won the Turin derby and beaten title rivals Milan of late, Juventus are a force to be reckoned with this season - and their year-long ban from UEFA competition seems to have been a blessing in disguise.
Between Serie A fixtures, Allegri has moulded a rigid back line on the training ground, and before putting it to the toughest test in Calcio - next week's Derby d'Italia against Inter - his well-drilled side will host opponents who have rarely troubled Juve in the recent past.
The Bianconeri have won 11 of their last 12 league meetings with Cagliari, averaging 2.3 goals per game and recording eight clean sheets in the process.
© Reuters
Ahead of their trip to Turin, Cagliari have lost each of their last six away games against Juventus in the league, so precedent is certainly not on their side this weekend.
However, a sudden spurt of both points and goals has boosted confidence in the camp, lifting the Isolani out of the relegation zone and sending them through to the last 16 of the Coppa Italia.
No Serie A side has scored more than Cagliari since the start of October - nine, alongside Bologna and Roma - and having ignited their comeback campaign with two spectacular wins in a week, last term's Serie B playoff winners then managed to wrap up three more points last Sunday.
Claudio Ranieri's side welcomed Genoa to Sardinia shortly after battling back from three goals down to beat Frosinone and then sneaking past Udinese in the cup with an extra-time winner, and second-half strikes from Nicolas Viola and Gabriele Zappa secured a 2-1 home victory.
While Juventus are capable of shutting out anyone, their ex-Cagliari boss Allegri will no doubt be aware that Saturday's visitors have now scored six of their last seven league goals via substitutes, including each of the last four: Leonardo Pavoletti's stoppage-time brace versus Frosinone and both goals against Genoa.
Team News
© Reuters
After netting last week's winner in Florence, Fabio Miretti should join Manuel Locatelli and Weston McKennie in the Juventus midfield on Saturday, as regular starter Adrien Rabiot must serve a suspension for accumulated bookings.
With McKennie set to feature in the centre and fellow USA international Tim Weah sidelined by injury, Andrea Cambiaso and Filip Kostic could claim the hosts' wing-back positions in a familiar 3-5-2 formation. In addition to Weah, defensive trio Mattia De Sciglio, Danilo and Alex Sandro are also unavailable.
Battling it out with Moise Kean and Arkadiusz Milik to partner Federico Chiesa up front, Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic has previously scored five league goals against Cagliari - including his first-ever Serie A strike, back in November 2019.
The visitors, meanwhile, remain without Nahitan Nandez (thigh) and long-term absentee Marko Rog (ACL) due to injury, but former Juve boss Claudio Ranieri should have the rest of his squad available at the Allianz Stadium.
Zito Luvumbo and Inter-loanee Gaetano Oristanio have recently been preferred as the Isolani's front two, but Andrea Petagna, Eldor Shomurodov, Gianluca Lapadula and Leonardo Pavoletti all offer more experienced options should Ranieri decide to freshen things up.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Rugani; Cambiaso, McKennie, Locatelli, Miretti, Kostic; Chiesa, Kean
Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Scuffet; Zappa, Goldaniga, Dossena, Augello; Prati, Grassi, Makoumbou; Viola; Luvumbo, Pavoletti
We say: Juventus 2-0 Cagliari
Although they have finally found a way to win, Cagliari have conceded more goals from open play than any other Serie A side this season (18), and they are not the most obvious candidate to end their hosts' superb sequence of clean sheets. Victory would put Juventus top of the table - if only for a day - and that should inspire them to avoid any complacency.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
