Results in Serie A this past weekend saw Juventus take firm control of the Serie A title race, their victory over Empoli and Napoli’s loss to Udinese seeing the Bianconeri open up a six-point gap over their closest rivals.

Yet the second of those matches could have even further ramifications on the destination of the trophy, with Gonzalo Higuain subsequently suspended for four games by the league’s disciplinary committee.

According to their press release (h/t Football Italia), the striker—who was shown a red card and then put his hands on the referee—was also fined €20,000. That means he is set to miss encounters with Hellas Verona, Inter Milan, Bologna and AS Roma, but he is not the only one facing time on the sidelines.

Indeed, the report went on to note that team-mates Kalidou Koulibaly and Dries Mertens had passed the threshold for yellow cards and will sit out one match each, while coach Maurizio Sarri has also been given a one-game touchline ban for “blatantly challenging the actions of the match officials” on several occasions.

With just seven rounds of the season remaining, that has prompted Alessandro Nesta—who won the Scudetto with both AC Milan and Lazio—to tell La Gazzetta dello Sport that he believes the punishment will seal the title for current holders Juventus.

“The championship is already decided, especially after Napoli‘s loss and the suspension of Higuain,” he said (h/t Yahoo Sport), but it will be up to the Bianconeri to ensure that they capitalise on this opening.

That starts with Saturday’s trip to San Siro, where a meeting with the Rossoneri awaits. Yet Nesta’s former side are heading into the fixture under serious pressure themselves, struggling to deliver the kind of form that would inspire fear in the Old Lady.

Their loss to Atalanta last Sunday—coupled with the fact they are now without a win since beating Torino back in February—brought some harsh words from coach Sinisa Mihajlovic in his post-match interview with Mediaset Premium.

“We can only apologise to the supporters, because this was an unacceptable performance,” he said (h/t Football Italia). “This is why we are going into a training retreat—at least until Saturday—to prepare for the match with Juventus.”

The former Serbia international will hope that brings the best from his players, but Milan—who sit sixth in the table and a staggering 24 points behind the Bianconeri—should expect few favours from a side they last beat at home back in November 2012.

“One off-day is all it would take for our rivals to close in, even Roma aren’t far off the pace,” Alvaro Morata told Mediaset and Sky Italia earlier this week (h/t Juventus.com) before adding a note of caution about their next opponents.

“Milan are always tough opponents to face, especially at the San Siro,” the Spain international continued. “It will be tough and a win for them would be of extreme importance, especially at this moment in time.”

Meanwhile, a club lawyer has revealed Napoli intend to appeal the ban given to Higuain. “A balanced punishment would be two games,” Mattia Grassani told Radio 24 (h/t Football Italia) before adding that the Partenopei are “looking for a significant reduction in his suspension.”

Juventus must therefore capitalise quickly while the striker—who has scored 30 of the side’s 61 league goals this term—is forced to miss out. If the gap already seems daunting, the prospect of it widening further before Napoli take on Hellas Verona this Sunday could become overwhelming for Sarri’s men.

The 2015-16 Scudetto race has been the tightest Juventus have faced in recent seasons, but against Milan this Saturday, they have a chance to perhaps land a fatal blow. It is an opportunity they must not waste.

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