Max Allegri gave some clues as to the starting line-up against SPAL tomorrow night, but warned “winning is extraordinary for Juventus, not normality.”
It kicks off on Wednesday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for a match preview.
The Bianconeri got back on track with a 6-2 victory away to Udinese on Sunday, even if Mario Mandzukic had been sent off after 25 minutes.
Max Allegri gave some clues as to the starting line-up against SPAL tomorrow night, but warned “winning is extraordinary for Juventus, not normality.”
It kicks off on Wednesday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for a match preview.
The Bianconeri got back on track with a 6-2 victory away to Udinese on Sunday, even if Mario Mandzukic had been sent off after 25 minutes.
He is therefore suspended for this game, with Blaise Matuidi, Stefano Sturaro, Medhi Benatia, Marko Pjaca and Benedikt Howedes injured.
“I can confirm Gigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini will not play tomorrow,” said the Coach in his Press conference. “Claudio Marchisio is ready for a run-out, not the whole game, while Mattia De Sciglio is in the squad, but lacking match fitness.
“Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa will play, so will Alex Sandro. I have some doubts in midfield, so don’t ask me about that area.
“How do we replace Mandzukic? With Douglas Costa. We take off a tall one and put on someone short… On the other side, it’s either Federico Bernardeschi or Juan Cuadrado.”
Allegri was asked about the controversy over Dybala apparently muttering an insult towards him as the Argentine was substituted against Udinese.
“There is no problem. At that moment I needed a player who could attack on the counter and substitutions are part of the decisions a Coach must make.
“These strikers have always scored goals and always will, there are just moments for everyone when for three or four games they don’t find the net. The important thing is to keep doing the usual performances.
“This game is worth three points, just like last weekend and the next. We must have great respect for SPAL, as they play attractive, attacking football and suffered narrow defeats, causing their opponents big problems. We must get back to winning on home turf.”
The club from Ferrara is no stranger to Allegri, as his second coaching job was at SPAL in the 2004-05 Serie C1 season.
“I had a valuable experience early in my career with SPAL. We had some difficulties within the club, but you could breathe the air of an important club and history, so SPAL deserve to be in Serie A. Leonardo Semplici is a good Coach and is proving he makes the team play very good football at this level too.”
Allegri again tried to calm the expectations around his side after six consecutive Serie A titles, reaching the Champions League Final twice in three years.
“Winning is something extraordinary. The fact we are talking about a seventh straight title is wonderful, because that would mean going even beyond legend to something nobody has ever done before in Italy. Following this type of an objective will also help us play well in the Champions League. It’s not an either-or situation.
“We can only win the Scudetto if we get it into our heads that we must run hard and suffer. Juventus have the potential to do it.
“Juve must get back to playing for 95 minutes without lowering the tempo or concentration levels. With Torino, we shut off the light for five or six minutes, then did the same with Atalanta. Eventually, when we did it again with Lazio, we fell over.”