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The Serie A will resume on Sunday, and champions Juventus who are scheduled to play on Monday evening against Cagliari at home will look to pull clear of table-topping Inter.
Maurizio Sarri's team headed to the winter break locked level on 42 points with the Nerazzurri. Inter's vastly superior goal difference sees them on top and for the first time in nearly ten years of Juventus dominance, there is a general feeling in Turin, this could be a title race that will go down to the wire.
Juventus' task to pick up three points on Monday won't be easy as they face high-flying Cagliari. The Sardinian club are currently occupying sixth spot in the league table following their brilliant first half of the season, with eyes firmly on a place among Europe's elite.
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Juventus vs Cagliari Head-to-Head
This will be Juventus' first outing since suffering a surprise 3-1 defeat to Lazio in the Supercoppa three weeks ago in Saudi Arabia. Simone Inzaghi's Lazio are also the only side to have beaten Juve in the league this season.
The Bianconeri have not lost to Cagliari in the league since November 2009. It was a Cagliari team coached by former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri that did the damage over ten years ago.
However, Juventus have since enjoyed this fixture, winning all ten matches against Cagliari ever since and only drawing once.
Cagliari finished 15th in Serie A last season, but their points haul of 29 from 17 matches is one of their best return since 1993. They sit sixth in the table just six points from fourth-placed Roma.
Juventus form guide: L-W-W-W-L
Cagliari form guide: W-W-D-L-L
Juventus vs Cagliari Team News
Giorgio Chiellini and Sami Khedira will definitely miss out due to long-term injuries, while Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended for the champions after his dismissal in the Supercoppa in Riyadh.
Aside from that, Maurizio Sarri has a full-strength team to pick from with the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot vying for a starting spot.
Injuries: Giorgio Chiellini and Sami Khedira
Suspension: Rodrigo Bentancur
Juventus vs Cagliari Predicted XI
Juventus Predicted XI: Szczesny, Juan Cuadrado, Leonardo Bonucci, Matthijs de Ligt, Alex Sandro, Miralem Pjanic, Aaron Ramsey, Blaise Matuidi, Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo
Cagliari Predicted XI: Rafael, Paolo Farago, Ragnar Klavan, Luca Ceppitelli, Luca Pellegrini, Nahitan Nandez, Luca Cigarini, Marko Rog, Radja Nainggolan, Joao Pedro, Giovanni Simeone
Juventus vs Cagliari Prediction
Juventus would have hoped for a more straight forward opening game to start the new year, but the visit of Cagliari could prove to be more troublesome than anticipated. Despite having a near-perfect record against the Sardinians, Maurizio Sarri's side will face a very different opposition to the one that finished 15th in the league table last season. Currently sixth in the table and daring to dream for a place in Europe, it is fair to say not even the most ardent supporter of Cagliari had put that on their Christmas wish-list. But with all things considered, Juventus will be far too strong, innovative and clinical at home.
Score prediction: Juventus 3-1 Cagliari
