04 March 2023
Tomorrow, Sunday 5 March, the Stadio Olimpico will be lit up for Roma-Juventus.
On the eve of the Serie A Matchday 25 fixture, Coach Allegri spoke to the press that had gathered at the Allianz Stadium for the pre-match conference.
ROMA'S FORM
"Roma are having an excellent campaign and are fighting for a place in the Champions League. At home they have one of the best defences in Europe, conceding just five goals in eleven games and are coming off four home wins without conceding a goal. Roma-Juventus in a full stadium - it'll be a good match. We will have to be on top of our game.
"I hope [José] Mourinho is able to take his place on the bench tomorrow. He doing a great job at Roma, leading them into the battle for a place in the Champions League. As for [Paulo] Dybala, he was important for Juventus, and he's just as important for Roma. We'll face him being full aware of his characteristics."
TEAM UPDATE
"[Paul] Pogba is fit and feeling fine. I was very happy with how he entered the game against Torino. It wasn't easy after such a long time out. He still has to recover full match fitness, he doesn't have much playing time in his legs yet, but at the moment he's an excellent solution to have on the bench. As for players recovering [from injury], [Fabio] Miretti is back. So, everyone is available except [Arkadiusz] Milik, who'll return after the break, and Kaio Jorge.
"Tomorrow I will evaluate who will play. [Leandro] Paredes is fine, [Manuel] Locatelli is available again, [Enzo] Barrenechea is in the reckoning, too. They are all fine and they are all reliable. Now we will have a match every four days, with Freiburg immediately on Thursday, it will be important that whoever comes off the bench makes an impact like the players that came on against Torino. [Angel] Di Maria has been ever present over the last few games, the important thing is that when he plays he is a determining factor, like he has been in the last few games, regardless of the result."
SETTING GOALS
"It is an important match against Roma because it's a head-to-head and we must start to pull away from the teams behind us. As for looking ahead, we'll keep an eye on how the situation in the table develops. However, if we want to be realistic, qualifying for the Champions League is now very difficult, almost impossible.
"The team has so far earned 50 points and we will have to give continuity to the results obtained on the field by working on mini-objectives, as I have been saying for a while. Would making it to the Champions League despite a 15-point penalty be like winning the Scudetto? I'd say it would be like winning three!”
