Massimiliano Allegri confirmed that Adrien Rabiot and Federico Chiesa wouldn’t be available for Juventus’ trip to Lecce.
The Bianconeri have been near flawless in Serie A this term, losing just once in their first 20 matches of the season. Allegri’s side have won six of their last seven league games, keeping up the pressure on league leaders Inter.
Juventus edged out a tense 1-0 win over Lecce in the first half of the season and will be expecting another victory in Puglia, which would allow them to temporarily take the top spot in the league table.
Speaking in a press conference via TMW, Allegri first discussed the health of his Juventus squad.
“The team are good, they had a good training session yesterday. Tomorrow there’ll be no Rabiot and Chiesa. Rabiot had a calf strain, while Federico had a flare-up of his knee problem and will be evaluated in the next few days.”
He touched on the difficulties of facing Lecce.
“It’s always complicated to play in Lecce, uncomfortable matches occur. They’re a team that create and defend very well, and in the last four home games they’ve always achieved results.”
The Bianconeri coach was asked about Moise Kean.
“I spoke to him to find out how he is, he starts running again tomorrow. The sporting director takes care of the transfer market.”
He gave his thoughts on the work of Dusan Vlahovic.
“Dusan has grown a lot on the pitch and the way he plays matches, he is calmer. A step forward that he is taking towards complete maturity.”
Allegri was asked if it would be difficult to chase Juventus should they take the top spot in the league table.
“Now let’s talk about going top of the table… They are three important points, there are still many missing at the top of the table. Inter are a strong team and are the favourites. Let’s get the points first.
“Growth path, they are doing well, the team have self-esteem, we’re physically well. But winning is complicated. Because in Lecce it’s always difficult.”
He spoke about if it was right for Juventus to avoid comparing themselves to other teams.
“There are some horses that need blinkers and others that don’t. The difference is that for some it bothers them having a horse near and maybe they slow. Juve don’t have blinkers, the other day I liked how the team played the match with confidence.
“What has been done up to now counts for nothing, it matters tomorrow evening. Football thrives on balance, if you don’t get a result for a week, you can ruin the season. We are halfway through the season, we have an important objective and we have a Coppa Italia to play.
“In April it’s always good in Rome, it’s sunny, it’s wonderful. Step by step, we’re thinking about improving, without falling into presumption.”
Finally, Allegri estimated the recovery times for Chiesa and Rabiot.
“We don’t have two players available, but we have some to play tomorrow. We’ll evaluate Rabiot, the calf is a very risky area. For Chiesa, the doctors will evaluate him.”