Juventus boss Fabio Capello warned his players that they were heading into a dangerous zone, given the Italian league’s progression into round 21 and insisted that they had no other option but to win their upcoming match against Empoli.

“This will be the toughest time of the season for us, as we’ll be playing 14 games in 52 days – 15 for our internationals. Only after that tour de force will we be able to look at our position and evaluate the situation,” Italian daily Football Italia quoted Capello as saying on Saturday.

“In any case, if we can survive unscathed during these two months, then that’ll be an important step towards the trophies in Italy and Europe,” he added.

The Bianconeri put on excelled performances throughout this season’s league, but Capello seemed to be fearful of repeating last year’s scenario, when they lost an eight-point lead over Milan in the just about a week.

The Juve head coach is expected to rotate the squad in their match against Empoli on Sunday, especially since Pavel Nedved and Giorgio Chiellini are still out injured, while Alessandro Del Piero is expected to replace suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

“There will be room for everyone this season, as we have to optimise the energy at our disposal. I was satisfied with our performance at Chievo, as we had several goalscoring opportunities, whereas they made the most of their minimal chances,” Capello added.

Juventus gave Empoli a 4-0 drubbing in the Italian league round-two, but a change of tactics in the coming encounter is expected to keep the competition on edge.

“I know Cagni well and he always builds his teams from the defence up. We will be facing a side that will sit back and soak up pressure, trying not to run too many risks. We’ll require a lot of patience to win this match,” Capello said about Empoli coach Cagni and the team players.