Thiago Motta’s Juventus will kick-start their Coppa Italia title defence with a home game against Cagliari on Tuesday evening.
Juventus might be unbeaten in Serie A, but they have played way too many draws and will be looking to get things back on track with a win here. European commitments mean the Old Lady will enter the cup at this stage, and they will host a Cagliari outfit that have already won two matches to make it to the round of 16.
Thiago Motta’s team have only lost once this season, and that defeat came in the Champions League. While the Bianconeri might have avoided defeats on most occasions, they have dropped points in quite a few occasions having played out 12 draws in their 22 outings.
Juventushave drawn each of their last four league games and their only win in the last five games came against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League. They are heading into this fixture on the back of a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Venezia. Motta’s charges will have to put up a much better performance if they want to make it to the next round.
The visitors have been struggling since the start of the season as they currently find themselves 18th in the Italian top flight. Cagliari have lost their last three games and will certainly have to punch above their weight to come out with a positive result.
The Isolani defeated Carrarese Calcio in the first round and got the better of US Cremonese to get this far in the competition. While their form in the Coppa Italia has been on point, they are heading into this one on the back of three straight defeats, and this game won’t be easy by any means. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
Juventus
There is some positive for the Old Lady heading into this fixture, as Douglas Luiz and Nico Gonzalez are both back fit. Meanwhile, Juventus remain without the services of Arkadiusz Milik, Juan Cabal and Bremer. Andrea Cambiaso and Jonas Rouhi will both have to prove their fitness to be a part of this fixture.
Thiago Motta who will return to the bench after serving a ban last time out. The Juventus manager will be looking to make quite a few changes to the XI for this cup fixture against Cagliari.
Juventus will stick to the 4-3-3 formation, and Mattia Perin should be the one in goal for this fixture. Danilo will be the right-back, while Rouhi could start on the left if he is back fit. In the heart of the defence, Federico Gatti should partner Pierre Kalulu.
As for the midfield unit, Douglas Luiz should return to the starting XI and partner Manuel Locatelli and Nicolo Fagioli in the centre of the park. The trio will look to control the tempo and ensure they dominate possession of the ball.
Francisco Conceicao and Samuel Mbangula should feature on the flanks, with Timothy Weah leading the line for Juventus against Cagliari as Dusan Vlahovic is expected to be rested for this one.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Perin; Danilo, Kalulu, Gatti, Rouhi; Luiz, Locatelli, Fagioli; Conceicao, Weah, Mbangula
Cagliari
Davide Nicola does not really have much to worry about as Zito Luvumbo is the only player whose availability is doubtful as he was subbed off in their last outings after twisting his ankle.
Nicola could make a few changes to his preferred XI but he will stick to a back three for this one. Simone Scuffet should be the one in goal for the visitors while Mateusz Wieteska, Jose Luis Palomino and Adam Obert should form the back three.
Paulo Azzi and Mattia Felici will feature on the flanks as the two wing-backs. While the wide duo will look to contribute on both ends of the pitch, they will have a lot of defending to do against Juventus.
In the centre of the park, Alessandro Deiola will partner with Razvan Marin. The duo will look to ensure that the Old Lady midfielders do not end up dominating the proceedings. Nicolas Viola will be the attacking midfielder, while Leonardo Pavoletti and Gianluca Lapadula will feature up top in attack.
Probable Lineup (3-4-1-2): Scuffet; Wieteska, Palomino, Obert; Azzi, Deiola, Marin, Felici; Viola; Lapadula, Pavoletti
Key Stats
- Juventus and Cagliari have faced each other 96 times across competitions. The Old Lady have won 49 of those fixtures while the visitors only have 15 wins to their names.
- The Turin-based club are unbeaten in their last seven games against Cagliari. (W5 D2).
- The last meeting between the two teams was a 1-1 draw in the Serie A back in October.
- Cagliari are winless in their last five away games having lost three of those games.
- The Bianconeri haven’t lost a Copa Italia game at home since 2015.
Player to Watch
Timothy Weah
The American international has done a great job for Juventus on the flanks this season. He has seven goal contributions in under 900 minutes of first-team action. He is expected to be leading the line in this fixture and given the kind of form he has been in, the 24-year-old can surely have a big say on the end result.
Prediction
Juventus 2-0 Cagliari
Juventus have not been at their best this season. The Bianconre have played out way too many draws and they will be without quite a few first-team players. But, they still have a lot of quality in their ranks to go past Cagliari who have lost each of their last three games. The visitors will find it difficult to put up a fight against the Old Lady. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for Juventus.
