Massimiliano Allegri has ordered Juventus to snap out of their toothless slumber with a convincing victory at Cagliari this evening.

The reigning Serie A champions have allowed title rivals Roma to cut their advantage at the top to a single point by struggling through back-to-back draws with Fioren-tina and Sampdoria.

Allegri’s men were uncharacteristically sluggish against Samp and conceded a second-half equaliser in Turin.

Their next opponents, who are coached by the notoriously attack-minded Zdenek Zeman, will also be keen to respond to a rare goalless game having drawn a blank in Parma at the weekend.

Juve boss Allegri must watch the encounter from the stands of the Stadio Sant’Elia after earning a one-match touchline ban for insulting officials during the Samp game and, while he could still succeed in an appeal against the suspension, he is keen to get his message across to his players as soon as possible.

“They have a lot of attacking options, like all Zeman’s teams do: they will be a difficult challenge,” he said of Cagliari at his pre-match press conference yesterday.

“Tomorrow (today) we have to return to winning ways with a really good performance.

“We created lots of opportunities against Sampdoria but we did not exploit them as well as we could have.

“My suspension? I’m still surprised about it. My behaviour around the officials was, as it always is, proper and correct.”

The champions are almost at full strength with only injured defenders Andrea Barzagli and Kwadwo Asamoah giving Allegri any real cause for concern.

Zeman is without Sebastian Eriksson, Marco Sau and Simone Colombi as he makes plans to snap a seven-game run without a win, an outcome which would lift Cagliari out of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, in a week that saw Parma sell out in a desperate bid to secure their Serie A survival, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis insists he will not abandon the challenge of restoring his own club’s fortunes.

Parma arrive at the Stadio San Paolo tonight under the ownership of Piacenza-based jeweller Pietro Doca, who has assumed control of the top flight’s basement boys at a time of great turmoil.

There is no real danger of relegation for Napoli, but an inconsistent start to the season has left Rafael Benitez’s men in seventh place and at risk of being left behind in the race for a Champions League place.

But film producer De Laurentiis has warned any hopeful suitors against trying their luck with a speculative offer for the outfit he rescued from bankruptcy in August 2004.

He said: “It’s been a difficult period but I won’t back down. I’ve been developing this project for 10 years and I will continue to work hard. I will never leave Napoli.”

De Laurentiis is convinced coach Benitez has enough players of real quality at his disposal to steer the side back into the title race.

“We have a strong team,” he added.

“(Jose) Callejon and (Gonzalo) Higuain came in from Real Madrid, and then there’s (Dries) Mertens. Our quality is not up for debate.

“Our recruitment process has been consolidated and now it’s up to our unquestionably extraordinary coach, Rafa Benitez.”

Only Juan Camilo Zuniga and Michu present former Liverpool boss Benitez with any injury concerns while under-pressure Parma coach Roberto Donadoni is missing Jonathan Biabiany, Mattia Cassani and Massimo Coda.

Donadoni hopes the change of ownership will bring some much-needed stability to the bottom-placed club.

“The announcement of the new owners might calm the situation,” he told reporters.

“But now we just need to worry more about winning points and the league table.”

Juventus and Italian Cup holders Napoli play their respective league fixtures two days before the rest of Serie A because of their Italian Super Cup fixture in Doha next Monday.

Fixtures

Playing today
Cagliari vs Juventus - 19.00
Napoli vs Parma - 21.00

Saturday
Sassuolo vs Cesena - 18.00
Roma vs Milan - 20.45

Sunday (15.00)
Atalanta vs Palermo
Fiorentina vs Empoli
Inter vs Lazio - 20.45
Sampdoria vs Udinese
Torino vs Genoa
Verona vs Chievo - 12.30

Current standings