19 March 2022
After bowing out of Europe, Juventus return to domestic action tomorrow, Sunday, 20 March, with a home fixture against Spezia, kick off at 15h00 CET. The pre-match press conference saw Massimiliano Allegri set the scene for the remainder of the season, starting off with the match against the team sitting last in Serie A.
NEAR FUTURE
“We must cancel our elimination from the Champions League. Together with the club we are planning something important and we are laying solid foundations. We are on the right path. In my opinion we are even ahead of schedule, thanks to the movement on the transfer front in January.
“After 70 minutes against Villarreal, no one would have predicted us losing 3-0. If until Wednesday, the situation was positive, it can’t be considered a failure on Thursday morning.
“On January 6 we were ten points behind Atalanta. Now we are in a good position. If we can win tomorrow we’ll consolidate fourth place and remain three points behind Inter.”
STRONGEST XI
“I am not going to bench any player that is one booking away from suspension against Salernitana because Inter are next up. Tomorrow I’ll field my strongest XI and think about Inter when it’s time to, especially since all the players apart from those with long-term injuries will be back available after the international break.
“The fitness of Federico Bernardeschi, Paulo Dybala and Giorgio Chiellini is improving but they still don’t have 90 minutes in their legs.”
“Arthur will play tomorrow. Lately he’s been playing every game, and has improved. It’s worth remembering that he had been inactive for 6 months and needed time."
OPPOSITE NUMBER
"Salernitana are a different side from that from our opening match against them. They are playing better, more attack minded, and have achieved good results against Milan and Sassuolo.
“Their coach Davide Nicola is a tough nut to crack, so it won’t be easy.”
REMAINING GOALS
"As CEO Maurizio Arrivabene said, the minimum goal is the Coppa Italia final and fourth place. We have paid for the difficulties we had at the beginning of the season, but we have regained confidence.
“For us to reach April 3rd in contention for third place with Inter, it is already a great success. It is true that we are not fighting for the scudetto, but we’ve made good progress since January, and we have to take it one step at a time.”
