Massimiliano Allegri protects his players who aren’t fully fit and warns Juventus have won nothing yet as they host Manchester United.
It kicks off in Turin on Wednesday at 20.00 GMT after the Bianconeri won 1-0 at Old Trafford.
“At this moment, things are going well, but you don’t win trophies at this moment,” warned Allegri in his Press conference.
Massimiliano Allegri protects his players who aren’t fully fit and warns Juventus have won nothing yet as they host Manchester United.
It kicks off in Turin on Wednesday at 20.00 GMT after the Bianconeri won 1-0 at Old Trafford.
“At this moment, things are going well, but you don’t win trophies at this moment,” warned Allegri in his Press conference.
“Tomorrow we could achieve our first objective, either as group winners or simply being qualified, and then we’ll have another two games if we need them to secure first place.
“The most important thing is to reach March in the best condition and above all be competitive in all the competitions. That includes the Italian Super Cup, which we’ll play against Milan on January 16.”
Blaise Matuidi and Mario Mandzukic are included in the squad, despite some injury concerns, while Federico Bernardeschi, Douglas Costa, Moise Kean and Emre Can are out.
“Mandzukic’s ankle is fine. I didn’t put him on the bench on Sunday, as I was concerned that he’d feel pain going up the steps… I made a joke, but Mandzukic is a very important player for us and having him at our disposal is important. He has problems every year, it was his elbow last time, so in these situations it’s better to give him time to fully recover.
“It’s the same with Bernardeschi, as keeping him on the bench when he’s not 100 per cent, having the temptation to play him and then lose him for other games is pointless. It’s better to wait and have him at 100 per cent against Milan.
“As for the others, I read the papers today suggesting we had dead players. I looked around on the training ground and couldn’t find the corpses.
“I only have two out, really, and I hope to have Bernardeschi back against Milan. As for the others, Mandzukic and Sami Khedira are available.
“We must be careful, because we need a better performance than the one we had in Manchester, because they can be dangerous at any moment. We have to keep great focus, because there is a lot at stake.
“It could be we use the same front three as Old Trafford, because Juan Cuadrado is in good shape. I have to decide whether to rest Matuidi, as on Saturday he gave everything he had and more, but wasn’t very sharp. I could let him rest, because Khedira is in good shape and an important player to have back.”
Cristiano Ronaldo has not yet scored in the Champions League in a Juventus jersey, having been sent off against Valencia.
“I expect him to score goals, of course! But he didn’t really play the first, nor the second, and put in an assist in Manchester. It’s not as if he played that many.”