Advances with a view to the Super Cup. This evening Juventus (19 pm) and Napoli (21 pm) inaugurate the 16th matchday but the thought risks already being in Doha, where next Monday they will face each other for the first trophy of the season. The danger increases even more considering today's opponents: Cagliari third last for the Lady, Parma last for the Azzurri. In short, on paper, easy matches, but football teaches that, sometimes, it is precisely these that hide the greatest pitfalls.
“Cagliari always play openly and to score goals – thought Allegri. – It will be a difficult match to face but we must return to victory with a great performance”. In fact, Juventus comes from two draws, three also considering the Champions League, in which they have scored just one goal. If we were talking about any other Italian team there would be nothing strange, however, since it is the black and white people, the figure is not a little surprising. “We have always done well but we can do better – the defense of the coach from Livorno. – Against Sampdoria, for example, the opportunities arrived, we weren't able to take advantage of them. The intensity, however, has never been lacking”.
We'll see then if tonight the Lady will be able to adjust her aim, against a Cagliari that, on paper, starts at a really disadvantage. So far the Sardinians, in the basin friend of Sant'Elia, have collected the misery of 3 points in 7 games, moreover without ever winning one. However, the draws in question came against Sampdoria, Milan and Genoa, demonstrating that, when they face the big teams, Zeman's men give their best. And then there's him, the Bohemian, capable of igniting the challenges with Juve like no other. “It's a special game for me, as it always has been for twenty years now – his words at the press conference. – We will face a team that, in two seasons, has lost only three times but we still have a duty to try."
Not that the cabal gives him many chances: in the previous 22 with the Lady he was only able to smile 4 times (the last one in 1998), against 3 draws and 15 defeats. Allegri hopes that the trend will remain the same, especially now that there is a final at the door. The Super Cup creates anxiety especially with regard to yellow cards: Pogba, Lichtsteiner, Marchisio and Ogbonna are cautioned and the regulation provides that, in the event of a yellow card, the disqualification is discounted in Doha. But the Juventus coach, who already has to give up Bonucci for the same reason, will not be able to afford too large a turnover, not with Roma just one point away. In defense, in front of Buffon, both Lichtsteiner and Ogbonna will play, together with Chiellini and Padoin.
In midfield, however, one between Marchisio and Pogba is likely to rest, with the Frenchman most likely to be on the bench thanks to Pereyra. Instead confirmed Pirlo, Vidal and Tevez, with Llorente again from the beginning. Massimiliano Allegri will also be in the match, whose appeal against the disqualification of the sports judge was successful. The coach will thus be able to sit on the bench and guide his players in the hunt for an almost obligatory success.
