At 20:45 (CEST) on Saturday 19 October 2024, Juventus will face Lazio at the Allianz Stadium on Matchday eight of the Serie A 2024/2025 season.
This is what Coach Thiago Motta had to say ahead of the challenge against the Biancocelesti.
THE SQUAD’S CONDITION
“The team are doing very well, the players have trained very well and we'll be ready for tomorrow's match. We won't have [Gleison] Bremer, [Arkadiusz] Milik, [Weston] McKennie, [Teun] Koopmeiners, Nico Gonzalez or [Francisco] Conceicao, who is suspended, available. [Nicolo] Fagioli and [Timothy] Weah will be available for selection. I want to see a performance deserving of a positive result. We must play well in many different areas; everything is always done to try and achieve the best result. We must find the right balance between attacking and defence, we'll try to set the side up in the best possible way so that the players can express themselves and the team can perform at its best.
THE CHALLENGE AGAINST LAZIO
“Tomorrow we'll face a team with players in form, a very experienced coach whom I admire a lot and have praised several times for how the past few seasons have gone. We must be ready for anything. I expected Lazio to be at the top of the table, they are a good team with a great coach who has deserved what he has won. Tomorrow we will have another chance to show that even in difficult times we can be a competitive team. The stadium will be full and that's good, it means there is enthusiasm to watch the team.
INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS
“Douglas Luiz has a great attitude in training. He's doing really well, it’s telling to see people’s reactions in difficult moments and I've seen a fantastic reaction from him. So far when he has played he has done well but he can do better. [Dusan] Vlahovic is very well and he will play against Lazio. Several players could play as the centre forward tomorrow. It depends on how you understand that role and what tasks you give the striker. I've seen [Vasilije] Adzic perform much better recently: he's a great player, he certainly has less responsibility than others we have in the squad. He can play as a midfielder, more or less attacking, and when he plays, I'm convinced he'll do it well, he proves it in training. [Khephren] Thuram has always been very good. He is a guy who wants to improve every day, he has great ambition. He had a great teacher in his dad who always told him the truth. He shows in every training session that he wants to play and he has to continue like that.”