They’ve won the Italian title on 34 occasions and have topped Serie A for an astonishing seven seasons in a row, but there is no sign that Juventus is about to relinquish their dominance.
Going into the New Year, the Turin club had a healthy nine point lead over their nearest rivals Napoli, having remained top of the table since Week Two. Such has been their domestic strength in recent seasons that the club is almost able to count on winning Serie A every year and appears to be focusing its efforts on climbing to the summit of Europe. Juventus have been to two of the last four Champions League finals, but haven’t won the tournament since 1996.
European ambitions undoubtedly lay behind their headline-grabbing signing of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer, and the legendary Portuguese forward has made a predictably significant contribution this season, leading the Serie A scoring charts with 14 goals. Just as important has been his competitive attitude, exemplified by his headed goal in the 78th minute against Atalanta shortly after coming on off the bench, which snatched a draw and maintained Juventus’s unbeaten record.
With an astonishing 17 wins and just 2 draws at the half-way stage of the season, Juventus have set a new record, and it is no surprise that they are heavily favoured to win the title by the implied probabilities on the Bigbetbookmakers.com site, ahead of Napoli and Internazionale.
As has often been the case in recent seasons, it is Napoli who have been the closest challengers to the champions, but although they have played well under the vastly experienced Carlo Ancelotti, their defensive lapses have cost them crucial points. They have been formidable at home, but have lost three times on the road, most notably to both Juventus and Internazionale, and the suspension of Kalidou Koulibaly, who will is set to miss a crucial game against Lazio, has not helped.
With their transfer dealings restricted under UEFA Financial Fair Play rules, Internazionale made a terrible start to the season, winning one of their first four and losing to Sassuolo and Parma, but Luciano Spalletti’s team began to pick up form after that, and though they subsequently lost to Juventus and free-scoring Atalanta, a run of 11 wins in 14, including significant victories over Napoli and Milan, has put them in a good position to capitalise if Juventus suffer a major slump.
Five draws in eight games have hit Lazio’s hopes and they have fallen behind the top three, while draws have also been a problem for Milan, where manager Gennaro Gattuso is under increasing pressure. Of the chasing pack, Roma have the best form, winning three of their last four in 2018, and their sole defeat in that run was a narrow 1-0 loss in Turin against the reigning champions, and both Sampdoria and Atalanta are still in the hunt for European places.
