With a comfortable 14 point lead at the top of the Serie A table, one cannot blame Juventus fans from turning their attention towards the possibility of bigger silverware this season. La Vecchia Signora are well en route towards a fourth straight Scudetto due to a good run of form coupled with Roma's mid-season implosion.
In the Champions League, they powerered past Borussia Dortmund, dumping the German outfit out of the round of 16 after thrashing them 5-1 on aggregate. And despite losing their first home match in nearly two years to Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia, they still have a lifeline through Fernando Llorente's goal.
All in all, it has been an excellent debut season for Massimiliano Allegri thus far. The former AC Milan coach was not welcomed with open arms by the Bianconeri faithful but has appeased most of his most aggressive critics with how he has fared with the Turin giants since Antonio Conte's departure this summer.
As Juventus prepare to kick off a tricky April, with clashes against Fiorentina and Monaco on the horizon, they will first need to warm up after the international hiatus by welcoming Empoli to Juventus Stadium.
The Azzurri, who are back in Serie A for the first time since the 2007-2008 season, have done their best to ensure that they remain in Italian football's top flight for yet another campaign. With 15 draws - well over 50% of their 28 played and the most out of any other side in the league - they have managed to frustrate teams left and right as they are more than happy to sit back and hold out for one point.
Well, one can hardly blame Maurizio Sarri's men. In the battle for survival, each point can make the difference between returning to Serie B or enjoying another term in the top tier, and their 33 points so far have pretty much guaranteed that.
With over double the points of their opponents, Allegri may opt to rotate his squad against Empoli
Out of their past 17 meetings, Juventus, not surprisingly, have enjoyed the overwhelming advantage. 12 have resulted in wins for the hosts, whilst the visitors have only tasted victory on two occasions. Should Empoli manage to defeat the Bianconeri in Turin, it would be their first time as they have only been able to hold out for a draw on one out of their eight visits to the reigning Scudetto champions' home ground.
Fortunately for Sarri, he will have a full strength line-up available to him, something that he will desperately need given his team's poor showings against Juventus. In fact, the last time Empoli were able to defeat the Bianconeri (in Serie A) was exactly 16 years ago on April 3, 1999. Their most recent overall win was during the Coppa Italia in the 2007/2008 season but again, neither of these were away from their home stadium.
Allegri, on the other hand will be missing quite a few familiar faces, with Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, and Claudio Marchisio all not being fit for this game. Kwadwo Asamoah and Martin Caceres are also out and with a heavy fixture schedule ahead, he could also opt to rest Carlos Tevez which will give Llorente a rare chance to lead the line. Fellow Spaniard Alvaro Morata will also be paired as Juventus does prefer a two-striker formation.
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