Massimiliano Allegri to Rest Cristiano Ronaldo for Juventus' Visit to SPAL | Bleacher Report

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Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed he will rest Cristiano Ronaldo for the Old Lady's visit to SPAL on Saturday.

Juve can wrap up the Serie A title with six matches to spare if they earn just a point against the relegation-battling outfit.

Ronaldo returned from a thigh injury to score against Ajax on Wednesday as Juve earned a 1-1 draw at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie (U.S. only):

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Ronaldo RIGHT before the half 🔥🐐 Juventus leads 1-0

Watch on #BRLive: https://t.co/HKrFvCvlUH https://t.co/7IkxZQf1Tz

The return leg in Turin is on Tuesday, and Allegri said it would be needless to risk Ronaldo, 34, against SPAL:

JuventusFC @juventusfcen

🎙#Allegri: Risking @cristiano tomorrow makes no sense. And like him this also goes for our other players who have been playing a lot even during the breaks for their National teams. However, I will line up a tough and fair formation for the challenge that awaits us. #SPALJuve

Allegri will surely rest most of his key first-team players in Ferrara.

An eighth consecutive Scudetto is all but secured, and the Champions League has been Juve's main focus for some time this season.

There can be no guarantees against Ajax, and Juventus will have to put their strongest team out against the Dutch side.

In the round of 16, Real Madrid won 2-1 in Amsterdam before being thrashed 4-1 at home by Ajax and exiting the tournament. Juve will want to avoid a similar fate.

As the tournament's all-time record goalscorer and a five-time winner, Ronaldo is Juventus' biggest weapon in their pursuit of a third Champions League/European Cup crown:

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Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo vs The World

Since Cristiano's #UCL debut in September 2003, how the competition's top scorer has changed hands over the years.

We are fortunate to live in an era where we get to witness them both 🙌

Data via @OptaJoe https://t.co/rhB14YvIA8

Assuming the Italian giants manage to get past Ajax, Allegri will likely continue to use the Portuguese superstar only sparingly in the league.

When the draw was made, Juve's most likely opponents in a potential semi-final were Manchester City.

After Pep Guardiola's side lost their quarter-final first leg 1-0 away at Tottenham Hotspur, though, that is arguably no longer the case.

On the other side of the draw, Liverpool and Barcelona look the likely semi-finalists, having earned leads in their ties against Porto and Manchester United, respectively.

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