Following Juventus\u2019 wins over Bologna and Roma last month, we knew that the schedule would ease up a bit. Out goes competitors for the top four and race for a European position, in would come the provincial sides lined up one by one for the better part of the next four weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
We\u2019re in the final part of those four weeks of that favorable schedule now, with a massive three-game stretch domestically and in Europe on deck come the start of the new work week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But first, there\u2019s that one last fixture before bigger ones arrive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
That fixture against another one of Serie A\u2019s relegation battlers, Cagliari, takes Juventus to Sardinia this Saturday night for what could be a matchup that continues this really nice run of form Luciano Spalletti\u2019s squad is currently on. With Napoli dropping points yet again earlier in the week, this time in a scoreless draw against Parma, Juve are just one point behind the reigning champions who now no longer have their game in hand. That means if the trends of the two squads continue, Juventus could very well be ahead of Napoli and in third place when Antonio Conte\u2019s squad make their way to Turin next weekend for a massive showdown at the Allianz Stadium.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Before that, though \u2014 and before Juve can switch their focus to the return of the Champions League on Wednesday night \u2014 there\u2019s the matter of taking care of business against the club that is currently sitting in 16th place in the Serie A standings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It\u2019s that 16th-place standing that very much represents Cagliari\u2019s form for much of this season. I say that because on top of suffering a 2-1 defeat to Juventus back on Nov. 29<\/a>, they have won all of two games in all competitions since late September \u2014 a stretch of 17 games that has seen them tumble down the standings after their bright start to the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You see that form and then the form that Juve are currently in the midst of and you think that another three points are in the bag as long as Spalletti\u2019s squad keep on playing like they have been playing. And that is very much probably the case. But it\u2019s also something that we probably thought when Juventus faced Lecce a couple of weeks ago \u2026 and we all know how that one turned out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So, as easy as it is to look ahead to what\u2019s on the schedule come next week (and the next 10 days), count Spalletti as somebody who isn\u2019t going to be falling into that trap. We know that because he said so during his pre-match press conference on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201c\u201cFor us right now, the only game we\u2019re thinking about is the one away to Cagliari,\u201c the Tuscan tactician said. \u201dOf course, there are plans beyond this weekend\u2019s game, but we\u2019re only thinking about what\u2019s next. \u2026 We\u2019re focusing on one game at a time, studying each one with depth but without overfilling the players\u2019 heads.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sure, there is some coaching clich\u00e9 talk there, but it\u2019s also pretty true \u2014 especially when you consider the very real possibility that Juventus might actually end the weekend in third place. That is because Napoli are struggling with three straight draws to their name and just two wins in their last six games. The pressure is very much on them to try and turn things around in some sort of way before they have their own return to the Champions League and then make the trip to Turin next weekend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Pressure on Juventus? Not really. They certainly aren\u2019t playing like it at the moment. They are looking some kind of opposite to that, with this run of provincial clubs on the schedule really being the thing that has allowed Spalletti to build some momentum and get his new squad on a nice run of results. (Yes, even with the incredibly frustrating draw against Lecce thrown in there as well.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This is Juventus\u2019 chance to either jump over or pull even with Napoli this weekend \u2026 or just put themselves in a position to do the same thing next weekend. An improved run of form has allowed Juventus to be able to say that. Now it\u2019s all about simply taking care of business one more time against a relegation battler before much bigger fixtures arrive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And how things are going right now, you probably have a pretty good feeling that can happen exactly as you hope.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kenan Yildiz has been battling some flu symptoms the last couple of days, so it\u2019s not totally known just how close to 100% he will be this weekend. Chico Concei\u00e7\u00e3o is, again, just back from a minor-ish muscle injury and probably won\u2019t be able to handle a heavy workload. Edon Zhegrova is still on a minutes limit as he has remained an option off the bench and just about only that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So it only makes sense to talk about the one advanced player that is probably at full-steam-ahead mode at the moment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Are we in the midst of Fabio Miretti\u2019s best run of form since he broke into the senior squad at Juventus as a teenager a few years ago? Maybe! He is certainly playing quite well during his first extended period of playing time since returning from his loan spell at Genoa over the summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And you better believe that the memes are already starting<\/a> known that Miretti now wears the same kit number of a certain former Juventus midfielder who accomplished a thing or two over his career<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n No matter where you fall in the discourse, Miretti has been a somewhat surprising contributor in recent weeks simply because we weren\u2019t totally sure where he would fit into Spalletti\u2019s plans. Was he going to play in a pivot? Would he play further up the field? Could he handle things if he did play further up the field and be a source of creativity as Juventus\u2019 other forwards\/wingers usually are?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Well, my friends, I\u2019ve got some news for you \u2026 Miretti\u2019s doing pretty OK in this advanced role.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Say whatever the heck you want about the level of opposition Juventus have played against in the last couple of weeks, but Miretti being a legitimate contributor to wins both in terms of scoring goals and creating scoring chances for his teammates was something we might not have expected in such a thrust into the forefront kind of way. Spalletti clearly rates Miretti, who at 22 just looks much more comfortable on the field compared to the days before he went on loan to Genoa for the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This version of Miretti, one that Juve could really use when it comes to production going forward over the next few weeks with so many big games on the schedule, is starting to look like the player who many of us hoped he could develop into when he was still a teenager. Some of the passes he\u2019s dished out the last couple of games are some of the best we\u2019ve seen from any Juve player this season. On top of that, the advanced role he\u2019s now playing in \u2014 be it as a No. 10 or as one of the attacking mids when Spalletti goes with more of a three-man defense \u2014 is something he\u2019s really taken to.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Now, much like the team as a whole going into next week\u2019s big fixtures, he just needs to keep it going. He does that and hopefully good things continue to happen because he\u2019s been a big part of Juve\u2019s last couple of wins.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When: <\/strong>Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Where:<\/strong> Unipol Domus, Cagliari, Italy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Official kickoff time:<\/strong> 8:45 p.m. local time in Italy and across Europe, 7:45 p.m. in the United Kingdom, 2:45 p.m. Eastern time, 1:45 p.m. Central time, 11:45 a.m. Pacific time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Television:<\/strong> TLN (Canada); TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 3 (United Kingdom); Sky Sport Calcio, Sky Sport 251 (Italy).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Online\/Streaming:<\/strong> Paramount+<\/strong><\/a>, CBS Sports Golazo Network, DAZN USA, Amazon Prime Video (United States); DAZN Canada; fuboTV Canada (Canada); DAZN UK (United Kingdom); DAZN Italia, Sky Go Italia (Italy).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Other live viewing options can be found here<\/strong><\/a>, and as always, you can also follow along with us live and all the stupid things we say on Bluesky<\/strong><\/a>. If you haven\u2019t already, join the community<\/strong><\/a> on Black & White & Read All Over, and join in the discussion below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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