02 May 2017
TEAM NEWS
“Marchisio will come in for Khedira (suspension), but it won’t change anything about the way we play. Sami is more physical so what we will be losing in muscle, we will be gaining in agility and movement from Claudio.
"He’s in top shape at the moment and has come on brilliantly in the past month; his return will give us a real boost from now until the end of the season.
“Higuain? We brought him to Juventus to take our attack to the next level and that is exactly what he is doing. He has scored so many important goals already this season but his contribution goes beyond that; his work for the team recently has been spot on.
“Like all of my players, he is having a brilliant campaign."
UCL AND SERIE A: THE FINAL PUSH
“Extending our lead over Roma in Serie A was an added bonus but overall it changes little: once we return from Monte Carlo it’s straight into the Derby della Mole, another very important fixture.
“What mustn’t happen is a repeat of our first-half showing in Bergamo against Atalanta where we were too ponderous and way off the pace. Monaco are very, very dangerous and will punish the same mistakes.
"Comparing our stats with theirs, it’s natural that people are expecting a game of attack versus defence but football is never that simple. Monaco have won 13 of their last 15 matches, scoring for fun in the process, often at the end of the games.
“With that in mind we need to focus, pay them the respect they deserve and be aware of the fact that to reach the final, we have to produce two very good performances. The boys know what they have to do to combat Monaco’s strengths."
A "NEW" MONACO
“In 2015, Monaco were cautious, rock-solid and defensive. Now, they attack with real quality and pace. Falcao is returning to his pre-injury level of sharpness, they have two very good full-backs and flair on the ball in midfield.
“The coach (Leonardo Jardim) has done a brilliant job: they are ahead of PSG – one of the early favourites to win the UCL – in the Ligue 1 title race and are now in the last four of the Champions League.
"We hope that we can be the first team to beat them on home turf."
