The fourth week of April holds three key dates for Juventus on and off the pitch.
On Thursday, Massimiliano Allegri will lead the team to Lisbon for the first leg of the club’s Europa League quarter-final against Sporting CP. Juventus host Serie A champions-elect Napoli on Sunday night in a contest that will be dramatically influenced by the event ringed in red on the Bianconeri’s calendar this week.
The appeal hearing for Juve’s points deduction takes place on Wednesday 19 April. Expected to take between two and three hours, Juve should know whether the 15-point penalty which they suffered in January will stand.
The individual careers of 11 former Juventus executives banned from the sport across the globe, including Tottenham’s managing director of football Fabio Paratici, will also be decided.
After 30 games of the 2022/23 Serie A season, Juventus currently reside in the unfamiliar position of seventh. The Bianconeri had been third when the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) won their appeal accusing the club of gross financial irregularities – namely, artificially inflating transfer fees – and saw 15 points stripped.
Should Juventus successfully argue in favour of the original decision – which cleared Juve and several other clubs of any wrongdoing last year – here’s how the Serie A table would look.
|
Position |
Team |
Games |
Wins |
Draws |
Losses |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Napoli |
30 |
24 |
3 |
3 |
75 |
|
2 |
Lazio |
30 |
18 |
7 |
5 |
61 |
|
3 |
Juventus |
30 |
18 |
5 |
7 |
59 |
|
4 |
Roma |
30 |
17 |
5 |
8 |
56 |
|
5 |
Milan |
30 |
15 |
8 |
7 |
53 |
|
6 |
Inter |
30 |
16 |
3 |
11 |
51 |
|
7 |
Atalanta |
30 |
14 |
7 |
9 |
49 |
|
8 |
Bologna |
30 |
12 |
8 |
10 |
44 |
|
9 |
Fiorentina |
30 |
11 |
9 |
10 |
42 |
|
10 |
Sassuolo |
30 |
11 |
7 |
12 |
40 |
|
11 |
Torino |
30 |
10 |
9 |
11 |
39 |
|
12 |
Udinese |
30 |
9 |
12 |
9 |
39 |
|
13 |
Monza |
30 |
10 |
8 |
12 |
38 |
|
14 |
Empoli |
30 |
7 |
11 |
12 |
32 |
|
15 |
Salernitana |
30 |
6 |
12 |
12 |
30 |
|
16 |
Lecce |
30 |
6 |
10 |
14 |
28 |
|
17 |
Spezia |
30 |
5 |
11 |
14 |
26 |
|
18 |
Hellas Verona |
30 |
5 |
8 |
17 |
23 |
|
19 |
Cremonese |
30 |
3 |
10 |
17 |
19 |
|
20 |
Sampdoria |
30 |
3 |
7 |
20 |
16 |
Before consecutive defeats to Lazio and Sassuolo, Juve had collected 21 points from the 24 available since January and the initial wobble Allegri’s team suffered in the immediate aftermath of the points penalty.
This strong form has Juve on the cusp of the European places even with the handicap they have been handed. However, if the courts decide to add another 15 points to their seasonal haul, Juve would rocket up to third in the table, just two points behind Maurizio Sarri’s Biancoceleste.
Only runaway league leaders Napoli have won more Serie A matches on the pitch than Juve this season, with the Bianconeri preventing the opposition from scoring in more than half of their 30 league matches (17).
Juve’s gain would be Milan’s loss. If Allegri’s side scurry up the standings, his former…
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