05 March 2022
After success in the Italian Cup in midweek, Juventus return to league duty tomorrow, Sunday, 6 March, with a home fixture against Spezia, kick-off at 18h00 CET. In the pre-match press conference, Massimiliano Allegri explained how the team is shaping up for the showdown with the side from Liguria.
OPPOSITION CHECK
“Spezia have won four games away, not only at Napoli and Milan, but also against Genoa. They are a technical side that prepare set- pieces well and always keep three players in attack. We’ll need the backing from the fans now that the stadium is back to 75% capacity.”
PLAYER AVAILABILITY
“Daniele Rugani is available, and will probably start. Leonardo Bonucci is out but we need to thank him for what he’s done, playing through the pain barrier at Bergamo and Villarreal. Giorgio Chiellini is still sidelined.
“Mattia De Sciglio won’t be called up because he’s been carrying a knee injury for a while and we don’t want to run any risks. Paulo Dybala left training early yesterday. He felt some pain in his thigh, so he won’t be available tomorrow. We’re trying our best to understand the nature of his injuries.
“Federico Bernardeschi has recovered 100% but it would be a gamble to play him from kick-off as he’s been out for some time.
“I am considering whether to give Vlahovic a breather tomorrow and have him start on the bench. If Alvaro Morata and Moise Kean are picked, they can play off each other as two strikers.”
MIDFIELD OVERTIME
“Arthur and Manuel Locatelli combined well together against Fiorentina in the Cup, and Adrien Rabiot had a good game too. They are young and have the energy to play match after match.
“Locatelli has been a pleasant surprise in that he has demonstrated that mentally he has the strength to maintain his concentration over a number of games. He has shown he possesses the characteristics to make him a key player here at Juventus for years to come.”
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
"We’ve got to analyse the results the team has been obtaining lately, alternating positive performances with some less positive ones. What’s important is that one way or another we bring home the victory. Points are becoming scarce so we can’t afford to slip up.
"If Atalanta win their game in hand, they push us down to fifth place because they have a better head-to-head record. In my opinion, we can’t reach the 84-point total to win the league, so we're out of the chase for the title.
"We are Juventus and we always aim to win, but the situation in Serie A is what it is, while in the Champions League and Coppa Italia we’re still very much in the hunt."
