Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Empoli

JUVENTUS BACK!

It feels good to type that. I'm not going to lie about that one.

You can now completely forget about those pointless "HARRY KANE TO JUVE!!!" rumors that the British press was trying to convince us had any momentum. We can now get back to what we like best — the football, the stuff that actually happens on the field and not in the papers. Take that, international break! Be gone!

Empoli's visit to Juventus Stadium today kicks off the final stretch of the 2014-15 season. It's the first of the final 10 games of the year. And with that final 10-game stretch, Juventus has the benefit of knowing a 14-point lead over Roma is sitting there in their back pocket. That sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

Even with injuries hitting the squad hard, Max Allegri has managed to get the squad to this point of the year relatively well and has them in position to wrap up the fourth straight Scudetto sooner rather than later. And with the Champions League date with Monaco quickly approaching, you damn well know Mad Max wants his team to come out of the international break playing well no matter who's available to be picked in the starting lineup.

Can they do it?

Can the makeshift midfield continue the team's roll?

How will the (likely) 3-5-2 formation look compared to how Juventus went into the international break?

So many questions to be asked, so little time to answer them all. To the football!

Starting lineups may may not be posted RIGHT HERE when they become available. Let's see if this "Come on down, Simone Padoin! You're Juventus' brand new regista!" talk has any kind of legs. And if it does have legs, hopefully they don't screw up too much and maybe even deliver a cool assist or something. Just an idea, you know?