Three games, three straight draws. Such is the record for reigning Scudetto champions Juventus across all competitions, with one having to look back to November 30th to see that last time Massmiliano Allegri's men earned all three points from a game. And, in this season's first edition of the Derby della Mole, that match could have ended as a draw with cross-town rivals Torino had it not been for a last minute goal from Andrea Pirlo.
While the Bianconeri are still on top of Serie A and have secured their spot in the first knockout rounds of the Champions League, Roma have now taken advantage and have closed the gap to just one point. With European competition not set to take place until February, the Turin giants will be definitely keen on focusing 100% on maintaining their top berth as they push for a fourth straight Scudetto.
In Cagliari, they in theory, have a team that they should have no difficulty in earning their first win in four games against, especially as the Giallorossi will face off against Milan--a side that has been quite unpredictable so far this season. However, given that the Rossoblu are fighting for survival, with the half-way point of the season approaching, one should not be surprised to see them try to hunker down defensively and hope to grind out a draw.
After all, one point is better than zero especially when it comes to the end of the season and it is decided which teams will remain in the top flight and which will end up consigned to Serie B for the 2015/2016 campaign. Yet, the hosts' record against their upcoming opponents is quite poor, to say the least. Their last four meetings have ended as four straight losses, with the most recent matchup finishing as a 4-1 humiliation in January of this year. In fact, one would have to go all the way back to November 2009 to see when Cagliari last tasted victory, a 2-0 result during the 2009/2010 season.
This season, Zdenek Zeman--a familiar face to calcio followers--has not had it easy as his team have won just two games thus far, a 4-1 surprise result over Inter on September 28th and then a 4-0 victory against Empoli a month later in October. None of those wins, though, came at home where they have just collected a dismal three points in front of their home crowd.
Certainly, then, they will be hoping that Juventus will already have one eye focused on their upcoming Supercoppa Italiana meeting with Napoli as they aspire to cause an upset against a seemingly unstoppable opponent.
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