Juventus head coach Max Allegri has the chance to hand Intera devastating blow in their Scudetto ambitions after the “sliding doors” moment in which he almost joined them in the summer.

This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, who highlight the precarious balance at the top of the Serie A table and the complicated path of the Bianconeri boss within it.

Allegri had been one of the main candidates to replace Antonio Conte as Inter coach after the latter had abruptly stepped down at the end of last season.

The Nerazzurri made contact with the coach, then without a club, but by that point he had already made a pledge to Juventus and within a day he was announced as the new head coach of the Bianconeri.

Inter moved on to quickly settle on Simone Inzaghi, convincing the Italian to be the successor to Conte before he could sign a contract extension at Lazio.

Allegri got off to a torrid start to his second spell in Turin, while Inzaghi’s ideas looked to have been implemented smoothly with the Nerazzurri cruising into first place at the end of December whilst the Bianconeri were scrapping for fourth.

Now however, Inter are chasing AC Milan and Napoli at the top, and Juventus have made up significant ground on the three teams at the top, perhaps even becoming dark horses for the Serie A title.

Allegri has the chance to go above Inter in the table with a win on Sunday, albeit with the Nerazzurri still having a game in hand, and just as importantly, to inflict significant damage on their Scudetto hopes.

Should this come to pass, the crucial few days when the former Cagliari and AC Milan chose to join the Bianconeri over Inter will look massively important.