After consecutive wins to ensure the best-possible start to this season’s UEFA Champions League campaign, Juventus are on the road once again as they prepare for another European battle, this time against Zenit St Petersburg at the Gazprom Arena in Russia.Ahead of Wednesday night’s encounter, coach Massimiliano Allegri and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny shared their thoughts in the pre-match press conference.
Massimiliano Allegri
“The team is now happy playing in both the defensive and attacking phases, we are working every day to keep improving. The results increase self-esteem and serenity, even in our play on the pitch.”
TEAM NEWS
“Matthijs De Ligt has recovered and will play. Arthur will also play, but I cannot say whether or not from the start. Arthur can play in front of the defence or box-to-box, alternating with Manuel Locatelli and Rodrigo Bentancur.
"Paulo Dybala's recovery is proceeding well, he will almost certainly be available against Inter. However, right now we're not thinking about Sunday, as we can't get distracted. Tomorrow's game is very important for us to win.
"Alex Sandro has recovered, Mattia De Sciglio is coming into the game from a good performance, but for him it should be normal. Alvaro Morata is fine and has recovered.”
IMPROVEMENTS
“We still have to improve, especially in the last 30 metres, but we began to find continuity in the results. In the beginning we made errors and episodes put us at a disadvantage, but it takes a calm head.
"The ambition to aim for the maximum is always there. The next step is tomorrow. Then, obviously, during the year, the physical and technical improvements must be made by everyone, but let's take it one step at a time, very calmly.”
THE OPPOSITION
"Zenit are a technical team, with a European mentality. For us, winning would be important to take a big step towards qualifying.
"Zenit have great quality in midfield and have strikers with different characteristics, so we'll have to play a good match in order to get a positive result."
Wojciech Szczesny
"In order to win tomorrow we need the spirit of sacrifice and that of a team. The attitude in our daily work has changed and I have to congratulate Mister Allegri for this. It was great to have him back and you can see the results.”
JUVE SUPPORT
"I went through a difficult period, but thanks to everyone's support I am moving on from it. We must always and only think about helping the team. I never felt like being away from Juve.”
THE DIFFERENCE
"This team has very good players, but we can't always score three goals to win a match. We have rediscovered the pleasure of defending and sacrificing ourselves which comes from training and you can see the difference out on the pitch.
“Let's think about this match, which can almost allow us to qualify if things go for well us. Then we'll think about what comes."