This past week has been nothing short of a good one for Juventus. First the Bianconeri made sure they made it a fourth straight Scudetto by defeating Sampdoria courtesy of an Arturo Vidal goal. The only time la Vecchia Signora have won more consecutive titles was from 1930 to 1935, where they clinched five titles on the trot.
And they showed that they indeed are a tough customer in Turin as they powered past heavy favourites Real Madrid to maintain their unbeaten home record against the reigning Champions League winners. As things stand, Juventus are 90 minutes away from featuring in their first final since 2003 - in which they lost to AC Milan.
Despite their confidence-boosting win, Massimiliano Allegri's men have still some work to do after conceding an away goal against Carlo Ancelotti's squad. This is a fact that was not lost on the former Milan coach, who is enjoying an excellent debut season to date since taking over from Antonio Conte:
.@OfficialAllegri: "Arrivare in finale #UCL sarebbe straordinario, ma non è facile: a Madrid dobbiamo fare grande gara" #JuveCagliari
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) May 8, 2015
"Getting to the UCL final would be extraordinary, but it is not easy. In Madrid, we must play a great game"
However, with the mouth-watering clash not yet here, Allegri will first have to deal with Cagliari. Nonetheless, after comfortably securing the league crown, Juve fans will see a different starting XI fielded against the relegation-threatened Rossoblu, with Gigi Buffon and more stars expected to be rested:
.@OfficialAllegri: "Domani gioca @marcostorari30 e non giocherà @carlitos3210. Tevez sta facendo un'annata straordinaria" #JuveCagliari
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) May 8, 2015
"Tomorrow, Marco Storari will play [but] Carlos Tevez will not play. He's having an extraordinary year [so far]"
And there was some good news concering star man Paul Pogba, who has been linked repeatedly with a move this summer:
.@OfficialAllegri: "Ci sono possibilità che domani @paulpogba possa giocare, o dall'inizio o a partita in corso" #JuveCagliari
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) May 8, 2015
"There is the possibility that Pogba will be able to play tomorrow; either from the beginning or to come on as a sub"
Interestingly, though, Allegri's rotation has not always worked in his favour. Two of their losses, to cross-town rivals Torino in the Derby della Mole and more shockingly, to bottom-placed Parma saw him attempting to blend some second-string players with the regular starters.
This fact is something that strugglers Cagliari may have in mind as they take on the champions at home. Unfortunately, the odds are well and truly stacked against the visitors. In their last ten meetings, gli Isolani have never beaten the Bianconeri. With eight losses and two draws - the most recent on May 11, 2013 - one would have to go back to January 31, 2009 to see the the last time Cagliari defeated them in Turin, and they would follow this up with another win (at home) on November 29th of the same year.
Gianluca Festa, who took over after Zdenek Zeman's second sacking, will have to make do without forward Paul-Jose M'Poku and midfielder Daniele Dessena, with both being banned for one game. With six points between them and salvation, Cagliari will have to hope for a small miracle as they take on a team already securely crowned as champions of Italy.
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