Massimiliano Allegri has stressed the importance of Juventus backing up last weekend’s victory over Milan with another positive result against Hellas Verona on Saturday evening.
The Juventus coach conducted his customary pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon as the Bianconeri put in their final preparations ahead of the visit from Verona this weekend.
Allegri told the media that his team cannot become distracted by the fact that a win will take them to the top of the Serie A table.
Juve currently find themselves in third place in the division, two points shy of frontrunners Inter, but with the Nerazzurri and neighbours Milan playing on Sunday, Juventus have a chance to put themselves at the top of the division for the first time this season.
Allegri began his presser with a word of warning about Saturday’s opponents: “Verona are a physically strong team, they have good players. We must get a good result to back up the win against Milan,” he said.
“Nobody likes to throw the word Scudetto around lightly. We need to be realistic. We are working hard and we must continue to do so if we are to improve.
“Juventus has a great future, we all need to grow on a technical and mental level to build a solid team. The clear objective is to get into the top four.”
Allegri was also asked if, like their loss against Sassuolo earlier in the season, whether there was a chance of an upset against a side Juventus are expected to beat.
He replied: “I was calm before Sassuolo as well. Tomorrow is a different match, we will play at home with the help of the supporters. To win, we must always put ourselves on par with the opponent. We can not think about the fact that we could go top of the table.
“If you don’t put yourself on the same level as your opponents in games that you are expected to win, turning it around becomes difficult.”
There was a positive update on two of Juventus’ returning first team attackers.
“We are all fine, Chiesa has returned after three weeks without training and had a good week. Vlahovic was already in consideration. I haven’t decided (on the line-up) yet, I’ll do it tomorrow morning,” Allegri told the press room.
He also had a few words to say on a couple of emerging prospects, namely Joseph Nonge and Hans Nicolussi Caviglia.
“Nonge is a young guy who knows how to play football very well, but he has to learn to do lots of other things as well. He needs to work on his physical attributes, which are slightly lacking, as well as the technical aspects. The rest is a question of growth as a team. Balance and daily work are fundamental.
On Nicolussi, Allegri said that he is: “A good player in front of the defence. He plays well as a midfielder, he is intelligent, he is training well, he’s in a good spot.”
Kick-off between Juventus and Verona is scheduled for 19.45 on Saturday evening.