Massimiliano Allegri confirms Juventus will be without Paulo Dybala for tomorrow’s Fiorentina game, but Douglas Costa will be available.
It was reported today that La Joya was approaching a return, but that he wouldn’t be called for the trip to Florence.
Today the Coach addressed the media in his pre-match Press conference, and was asked about the injured, as well as the possibility of Claudio Marchisio starting tomorrow.
Massimiliano Allegri confirms Juventus will be without Paulo Dybala for tomorrow’s Fiorentina game, but Douglas Costa will be available.
It was reported today that La Joya was approaching a return, but that he wouldn’t be called for the trip to Florence.
Today the Coach addressed the media in his pre-match Press conference, and was asked about the injured, as well as the possibility of Claudio Marchisio starting tomorrow.
“There’s a chance of seeing Marchisio, but we saw Claudio on Sunday too, he played from 20 minutes in place of [Blaise] Matuidi,” Allegri pointed out.
“I’ll have to see training today to decide whether I’ll make a change or not. There’s no emergency though, because pretty much everyone is back.
“[Juan] Cuadrado is still out but we all knew that would be the case, Dybala, [Benedikt] Howedes and Matuidi are out then the others are available.
“Douglas is fine, but I don’t think he’ll play from the beginning because [Federico] Bernardeschi is fine and it’s only right that Bernardeschi plays in an important match like tomorrow.
“So we have plenty to play in football matches.
“Daniele Rugani? No-one needs to rest, because we played on Sunday and it’s been five days and we’re in trouble if someone needs a rest.
“They’re young, beautiful and sprightly so no rest. Rugani came off on Sunday because he had a niggle in his thigh flexor and I preferred to preserve him, because there was no need to take risks.
“I’ll have to evaluate tomorrow, the only doubt I have is on the right between [Mattia] De Sciglio and [Stephan] Lichtsteiner, with the probability that Lichtsteiner will play.
"Could Dybala be back for Tottenham? I don't know, because I haven't seen him yet.
"We'll see when he comes back to the squad, because it's one thing to train alone but it's another to train with the team and find certain rhythms.
"Then Tottenham isn't the last game of the season. If it's the last game and some is half-fit…
"Among other things it happened to me in the first Champions League final in Berlin, Barzagli was coming off an injury but we took a risk and let him play.
"But when there are 14 league games after tomorrow, another tie in the Coppa Italia and at least one more in the Champions League, why should we take risks on a player?
"We'll see. If he's fit he'll be available, then I'll have to evaluate things because I have to look at the whole season, not one game that isn't a final."
With Fiorentina, Tottenham Hotspur and Torino in the next 10 days, is this the most crucial juncture of the season?
“More than the derby, I’d go further, I’d go until the game before the international break on March 18, we’ll see what point we’re at then.
“We’ll have played a lot of games and come through a tough period, as will Napoli because Napoli have tough matches too.
“So we’ll see where we’ll be, but it’s pointless thinking about two months, three months or a month.
“The league will be decided at 16.45 – if we play in the afternoon on the final day, if not 22.45 – on May 20.”
Napoli Coach Maurizio Sarri said that Napoli have done well to keep the Scudetto race alive, as “similar to the Bundesliga, there’s a club that is clearly stronger than the others”.
“I’d just say that the numbers tell you Napoli are a great team,” Allegri responded.
“They’re doing great things, they’re scoring goals and winning so they’re a good team.
“Serie A is not like the Bundesliga because there’s a good duel between Juventus and Napoli.
“A lot, indeed 99 per cent, of why Napoli are there is because of Sarri, so that’s honour to him because he’s taken Napoli to great levels, they’re fighting against Juventus, a team that has won for six years in a row.
“This is a team which has had excellent results and has changed a lot compared to them [Napoli], almost all their players arrived with [Rafa] Benitez.
“So they’ve given continuity to their work and he [Sarri] has done really well to refine that and above all given them a style of play that is really nice to watch.”