Max Allegri confirms Leonardo Bonucci will miss Napoli, Roma and possibly also the Supercoppa Italiana against Inter, but Juventus will start either Federico Chiesa or Paulo Dybala against Napoli.
The first Serie A game of 2022 is set to kick off in Turin at 19.45 GMT on Thursday, assuming Napoli are allowed to travel despite a growing list of COVID-19 cases.
“Bonucci is definitely out tomorrow and on Sunday, we’ll see for the Supercoppa,” said Allegri in his press conference.
“Danilo will be available next week, Luca Pellegrini and Kaio Jorge had a cold and won’t be there tomorrow, we have Chiesa and Dybala back. With Arthur, we have to wait and see if his latest COVID swab comes back negative.
“I have two defenders at my disposal and three full-backs. Juan Cuadrado is on a yellow card too, but we have three games in a row and can’t make many choices.
“I do have to pick who plays upfront, as Chiesa is in very good shape, but as he and Dybala are back from long injuries, they could alternate to get some playing time in their legs, so it’s one or the other. Manuel Locatelli will be in central midfield, with two from Weston McKennie, Adrien Rabiot and Rodrigo Bentancur starting.”
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Napoli seem to be allowed to travel to Turin despite the growing number of COVID-19 cases within the matchday squad, as today Alex Meret and another member of staff tested positive.
However, the ASL has so far not intervened to prevent their travel via airplane, so they are still scheduled to fly out from the Capodichino airport at 16.00 GMT.
“There are authorities who make those decisions. All we can do is train and play with those we have. It’s an emergency situation for everyone, we need to find solutions.
“We prepared to play this game and are ready. Napoli have five more points than we do and are playing good football. Let’s not forget, they were decimated against Milan and still won at San Siro a few weeks ago.”
This fixture is something of a showdown for that precious Champions League spot, but could it also be for the Scudetto?
“Inter are clearly the favourites to win the Scudetto,” replied Allegri.
“I hope Simone Inzaghi will forgive me for this, but it’s Inter’s to lose. We have to take it one step at a time and see what happens.”