20 September 2016
Massimiliano Allegri calls on his charges to up the ante and return to winning ways against Cagliari on Wednesday night.
After a draw and a defeat in their last two matches, it should not take much to motivate the Bianconeri for a return to winning ways against Cagliari on Wednesday night at Juventus Stadium.
Those two results aside, Massimiliano Allegri remained optimistic of a successful season when discussing tomorrow’s encounter in his pre-match press conference today, the Tuscan calling on his charges to right the wrongs of the last week and to turn on the style in front of their home supporters.
From early team news to a reminder of the season’s primary objectives, the Juve boss’ key quotes from this afternoon are as follows:
Lessons from weekend
"The goal aside, which came from an excellent piece of play from Alex Sandro, we were poor on Sunday. Scoring and then immediately conceding twice is something that shouldn’t happen, of course.
"The way we play will need to be slightly adjusted relative to last season to ensure that we make the most of the characteristics of our new arrivals, all of whom have plenty more to offer."
Squad selection
"Daniele Rugani will start and we’ll be assessing the condition of Medhi Benatia in the coming days. Daniele has improved a lot since arriving here even if his playing time was relatively low last term.
"He has trained very well over the summer and, as I’ve said before, will be an important Juventus player for years to come. Given the number of matches we’ll be playing, you can expect to see lots of Rugani this campaign.
"As for the midfield positions, Sami Khedira will be rested having played seven matches in a row from start to finish but with Mario Lemina, Kwadwo Asamoah, Hernanes and Miralem Pjanic all capable of playing that role, we have a strong replacement. Three of the above will feature tomorrow."
Forward options
"Paulo Dybala played well on Sunday and for me, all that’s missing at the moment is a goal. Everyone knows what a fabulous player he is and all he can do is remain calm and keep doing what he’s been doing early on this season.
"Like Paulo last year, Marko Pjaca needs time to settle in before he starts playing week in, week out. Like Dybala and Morata before that, players of his ilk require a bit of extra time to start showing what they can do. Instances like this demand patience."
Eye-catching Cagliari
"Cagliari are good going forward and like to score goals. They’ll be coming here on the back of a morale-boosting win at the weekend so tomorrow’s match will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination.
"As ever, we’ll approach the encounter with maximum focus and with an eye on ironing out the mistakes we made in possession at the San Siro. We must improve, if not, we’ll be in for a tough evening."
