On the eve of Roma vs Juventus, scheduled for Sunday 5 May 2024 at 20:45 CEST at the Stadio Olimpico, Coach Massimiliano Allegri previewed the match in his pre-match press conference.
THE OPPOSITION
"We will face a strong Roma side that is doing very well despite Thursday's defeat in the Europa League, it is a team with technical qualities that is experiencing a moment of great enthusiasm. It will be a beautiful and fascinating match to play and at the same time a complicated one. I thank Coach Daniele De Rossi for his kind words about me. By the way, I played with his father Alberto, a wonderful person, in Livorno in 1986. Daniele has given a lot of enthusiasm and a bit of light-heartedness to his team, he is a young coach and I believe he will enjoy a good career. For Roma it could also be their last resort, they want to return to fight for a place in the Champions League and we will have to play a good game. We are playing against a strong team that has important players who individually can solve the match. Dybala is a valuable player, while Paredes has also done well, as have Pellegrini and El Shaarawy. Huijsen? He's a young player who will surely have an important future.
TEAM NEWS
"We'll have two absences in Rome: Alex Sandro, who hasn't recovered, and the other is Yildiz who has a stomach bug, he's not training today and won't travel with us. Weah in recent times is doing well, he's more confident and tomorrow he could play from the start. McKennie has had a very good season, then there are times when you can make different choices. Cambiaso can play as a midfielder, as an outside player and come inside as well: he's a player who knows how to play football, he has grown a lot and I think he can grow even more. Upfront Kean is doing better, Milik, after the goal against Lazio that got us to the final of the Coppa Italia, is more confident, which was also seen when he came on against Milan. Everyone is needed at the moment. Vlahovic? I've spoken with Dusan as with everyone, he's been fine during the week. The forwards are all well, I'm very calm: I have choices up front that can be decisive even when the game in progress.
SEASON'S GOALS
"We've approached this match well, we'll see tomorrow if we can get back to winning away, which we haven't done since Lecce. The season as a whole? Football is impossible to explain: there are moments when you do well and others you don't, and moments when you play better games and fail to win. We mustn't think about what has been, but about what must be, there are 20 days left until the end of the season and we must do our utmost to reach Champions League qualification as soon as possible. In the second half of the season we did not manage to do what we did in the first half, but we are close to achieving our main goal, which is a return to the Champions League. We have to be careful and focused because until we are mathematically qualified, there can always be surprises."