Juventus’ 2021 draws to a close on Tuesday night as they host 19th place Cagliari in Serie A.
The Bianconeri head into the midweek bout fresh off their 2-0 victory at Bologna on Saturday evening which extended their unbeaten run to five games in all competitions. Their last defeat came at home to Atalanta on 27 November.
Cagliari, meanwhile, haven’t won in the league since mid-October (their only league win this term) and they’ve been crushed 4-0 in their two most recent Serie A outings. Walter Mazzarri is yet to invigorate his depleted troops, and the club’s six-year stay in the top-flight is under serious threat. Only Salernitana are worse off than the Isolani after 18 games.
For Juventus, they couldn’t have asked for a kinder fixture to round off a tumultuous calendar year. Despite their victory at the weekend, they remain seventh in the table after AS Roma stunned Atalanta and Fiorentina fought back against Sassuolo.
Overall, Massimiliano Allegri has just about coped without Paulo Dybala and Federico Chiesa, and the Juventus manager will be hoping to conclude 2021 in style on Tuesday.
Here’s our preview of Tuesday night’s Serie A bout between Juventus and Cagliari.
How to Watch Juventus vs Cagliari
When is kick-off? Tuesday 21 December
What time is kick-off? 19:45 (BST)
Where is it played? Allianz Stadium
TV channel/live stream? BT Sport 2 (UK), Paramount+ (US)
Juventus Team News
#Chiellini e #Dybala oggi hanno lavorato ancora a parte, difficile che tornino a disposizione col Cagliari. #Juventus
— Giovanni Albanese (@GiovaAlbanese) December 19, 2021
Paulo Dybala is expected to miss out for a second consecutive game, as is Giorgio Chiellini. Thus, Matthijs de Ligt and Leonardo Bonucci should continue as Juve’s centre-back pairing.
Alex Sandro will come in for Luca Pellegrini, who was forced off in the victory at Bologna with a calf problem.
Dejan Kulusevski could start after returning off the bench last time out, while Manuel Locatelli is expected to replace Arthur Melo in midfield. Mattia De Sciglio may replace Juan Cuadrado at right-back in what could be a heavily rotated XI
Cagliari Team News
Midfielder Razvan Marin misses out through suspension after being sent off against Udinese last time out. Kevin Strootman remains out with a knee injury with the midfield pair likely being replaced by Christian Oliva and Alessandro Deiola. They’ll join Nahitan Nandez in the midfield three.
Sebastian Walukiewicz (hip) and Marko Rog (knee) are also missing for the Isolani.
Juventus vs Cagliari Predicted Lineups
Juventus: Szczesny; De Sciglio, Bonucci, De Ligt, Alex Sandro; Kulusevski, Locatelli, Bentancur, Bernardeschi; Morata, Kean.
Cagliari: Cragno; Caceres, Ceppitelli, Carboni; Zappa, Oliva, Deiola, Nandez, Dalbert; Pedro, Balde
Juventus’ Recent Form
Bologna 0-2 Juventus (18/12) – Serie A
Venezia 1-1 Juventus (11/12) – Serie A
Juventus 1-0 Malmo (08/12) – Champions League
Juventus 2-0 Genoa (05/12) – Serie A
Salernitana 0-2 Juventus (30/11) – Serie A
Cagliari’s Recent Form
Cagliari 0-4 Udinese (18/12) – Serie A
Cagliari 3-1 Cittadella (15/12) – Coppa Italia
Inter Milan 4-0 Cagliari (12/12) – Serie A
Cagliari 1-1 Torino (06/12) – Serie A
Hellas Verona 0-0 Cagliari (30/11) – Serie A
Prediction
Cagliari’s morale is at an all-time low heading into Tuesday’s bout with the visitors desperate for the winter break to offer them some respite. This should be a comfortable evening for Juventus, but you can’t put anything beyond this Bianconeri outfit. They love surprising us in the worst possible ways, and failing to win here would be a disastrous festive gift.
The visitors might make it tough. Should they remain compact in their 5-3-2 and block space diligently, it’ll be interesting to see who’ll step up for Juve. Massimiliano Allegri’s side struggle to sustain pressure and they lack an unlocker of defences in the final third when Dybala’s not around.
Federico Bernardeschi will take on much of the creative responsibility, while Dejan Kulusevski’s potential return to the starting XI will help. However, they’re not reliable, high-volume creators as Dybala is – despite Bernardeschi’s recent brilliance.
Juve will win on Tuesday night, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a slog. They’re not built to break down low blocks.
Prediction: Juve 1-0 Cagliari