Juventus vs Cagliari

A place in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals is on the line as Juventus and Cagliari go head-to-head in a ‘David vs Goliath’ last-16 tie at the Allianz Stadium.

Terminally unable to stay away from the draw column, Juventus shared the spoils with Serie A newcomers Venezia at the weekend (2-2), posting a fourth consecutive league stalemate. Despite finishing Gameweek 16 as the only unbeaten side in Italy’s top flight, a frustrating tenth draw (W6) left ‘I Bianconeri’ a whopping nine points adrift of table-topping Atalanta, ramping up pressure on Thiago Motta despite Juventus’ 11-game unbeaten streak in all competitions (W3, D8). Consistency has emerged as a substantial issue for the record-time Italian champions as they’ve alternated between draws (3) and wins (2) across their last five competitive home outings. The only common denominator in this sub-par run has been Juventus’ decent scoring output, as they bagged precisely two goals on each occasion.

Meanwhile, Cagliari’s road to the Coppa Italia Round of 16 has been plain sailing. Davide Nicola’s team dispatched lower-league Carrarese and Cremonese across the opening two rounds to set up this tie. However, they could be out of their depth in Turin against a Juventus side they last got the better of in July 2020 on home turf. Except for that triumph behind closed doors, the Islanders haven’t beaten ‘I Bianconeri’ since 2010, including a narrow 1-0 defeat in this competition in December 2012. Cagliari must punch above their weight to increase their chances of reaching the Coppa Italia final for the first time since a runner-up finish in 1968/69. That’s a pipe dream as they head into proceedings winless on their last five domestic travels (D2, L3), four of which saw them score under 1.5 goals.