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Needing just a point to secure the Serie A title for the eighth consecutive season, Juventus travel to take on 16th-place SPAL on Saturday at 9 a.m. ET.
For those in the United States looking to watch, the game won’t be on TV anywhere, but you can watch a live stream on ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that includes a bunch of different live sporting events, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and other original content.
You can start a free trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch SPAL vs Juventus on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Additionally, if you don’t already have ESPN+ and you’re planning on ordering Saturday night’s UFC 236 (headlined by Max Holloway vs Dustin Poirier) event, you can purchase a one-year subscription to ESPN+ and UFC 236 for $79.99.
SPAL vs Juventus Preview
With a 20-point lead over second-place Napoli and seven matches remaining, Juventus have an opportunity to crown themselves Serie A champions for the eighth straight season on Saturday.
And if they don’t do it Saturday, they’ll have six more chances. Because of that massive cushion, manager Massimiliano Allegri is opting to rest star Cristiano Ronaldo. The 34-year-old returned from a muscle injury to help Juve to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal tie against Ajax on Wednesday, and with the second leg looming next week, there’s no point in playing him against SPAL on Saturday.
“Risking Cristiano makes no sense,” Allegri said. “And like him this also goes for our other players who have been playing a lot, even during the breaks for their national teams. There are players who need to play and some who will stay at home. [Leonardo] Bonucci has no problem but could rest. It will be a good opportunity for those who come.
“The celebrations can be postponed because on Tuesday we have an important game that could give us the qualification for the [Champions League] semi-finals. However, I will line up a tough and fair team for the challenge that awaits us.”
Saturday’s match is mostly meaningless in the sense that Juventus have all but secured the title, but they still have a chance at breaking the records–which they set in 2013-14–for most wins (33) and points (102) in a Serie A season. They would need to win each of their remaining matches to get to 34 wins, while six victories and a draw to get them to 103 points.
You can bet those are accomplishments they want to attain–but not at the risk of damaging Champions League hopes.
On the other side, SPAL recently won three in a row–including victories against Roma and Lazio–before a 2-1 defeat to Cagliari last week. But with Bologna winning four of five and Empoli winning two of their last four, Leonardo Semplici’s squad is still just four points clear of the relegation zone despite the recent run of form. As such, they’ll have plenty of motivation on Saturday.
These teams met in November, as Cristiano Ronaldo and Mario Mandzukic found the back of the net in the 2-0 win for Juventus at Allianz Stadium.