José Mourinho confirms Paulo Dybala will be available against Juventus but is unsure the Argentinean will start against his former club.
La Joya missed the last two Serie A games with a hamstring injury but has been training with the team this week. Mourinho confirmed during a pre-match press conference on Friday that the 30-year-old will be available against the Bianconeri at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
“I can’t give you a reply on whether he will start or not. A press conference at 10 am is also a way to protect us,” he said.
“But the feeling is that Paulo will be available. Then we’ll see if he starts or not. I won’t say it, but to be fair I haven’t even decided yet. I need to talk to him about his feelings, but he will be available if all goes well in training.
“Gianluca Mancini is in the same situation as last week. He knows the feeling of playing without training. He did well against Napoli and tomorrow he will play. There is no doubt that he will start with Llorente and N’Dicka; Mancio knows he is really important to us.”
Mourinho also spoke about ex-Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci who has been linked with a move to the Stadio Olimpico. However, the Special One revealed the Italy international is unlikely to sign for the Giallorossi next month as Roma fans are against his signature.
When asked what he expects from Juventus tomorrow, the Special One replied: “Juventus are Juventus and Allegri is Allegri. We always know what to expect from Juve and Max.
“When you talk about a team and a coach that cares about the results, to me, is the most important thing in football. Some people link results with something negative. When we talk about results, all the connotations are positive to me and Juventus do care about the results. They defend a lot and really well. They are strong on counter-attacks and how many points have they earned this season from set pieces? They play a game per week, which doesn’t mean they can only rest, it means they can work on tactics for many days. They are there in the race with Inter for the Scudetto.”
So, what will Roma win to win in Turin?
“Personality. We’ll need a lot from a tactical and physical perspective, but most importantly, personality. We can compare Napoli to Juventus, and at home, we had the personality required to play on par with a superior team in terms of quality and physicality.
“Perhaps it was the Olimpico that gave us this personality against Napoli, but the players interpreted the game well. Individually, we played a great game. Llorente played a great game. Ndicka had his best performance here, and I could mention more players.
“Tomorrow, we need the same, and we need the personality we had against Napoli. We know it will be a difficult game, there will be 2,000 Roma fans against 40,000 supporting Juventus, a team that is accustomed to winning titles. The situation won’t be easy but we need courage and personality. We never played for a draw against Napoli, and I’d like to see the same against Juventus.
Lorenzo Pellegrini scored the winner against Napoli last week, but he’s had many highs and lows this season. How does Mourinho judge his season so far?
“He is improving and this is what I like, beyond his goal. He had done a great job in the previous week. I’ve never seen him work poorly. Other players don’t do well at times, but Pellegrini is always focused,” Mou replied.
“He played well against Napoli and he was consistent this week. Sometimes, we’ve seen a flat Pellegrini this season, but now he is rising, so he must make the most of a moment with many games. We’ll play six or seven games in January and he is important to us because he has superior quality.”
Mancini and Bryan Cristante are one yellow card away from suspension, while N’Dicka will play in the AFCON next month. How will Mourinho manage his defenders in the coming weeks?
“Bryan will play in central midfield [against Juventus], but if needed he can play in defence. We’ve been working with Celik [in defence] for some time, trying to give him more tactical knowledge. He played there for 60 minutes against Sheriff. We are talking about a basic level, but I will try to make him improve in that position.
“We’ve known for six months that N’Dicka would go and that Kumbulla wouldn’t be available until January. We’ve known for three months Smalling wouldn’t return until January. We know the situation and now we know Mancini and Cristante are on a yellow card and you can imagine how it feels to have just one centre-back available for a game. We’ve known the situation for several months and I’ve promised myself to give all I have beyond circumstances. After the Juve game, we’ll think about Cremonese. My work is to prepare the team to the best of what I have available.”
Mourinho ended the press conference by saying that Kumbulla won’t be called up for the game against Juventus.