Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri says that Alvaro Morata or Dusan Vlahovic could be rested against Empoli tomorrow and insists that it is ‘mathematically impossible’ to see the Bianconeri win the Scudetto this season.
The Old Lady will visit Emploli at the Stadio Castellani tomorrow.
“Surely, it’s a game to win. We lost in the reverse fixture and it’s never easy to play at Empoli,” Allegri said at a press conference.
“We need to give continuity to our recent results. We need solid performance and recharge batteries, physically and mentally.
“Empoli have three offensive players, it’s difficult to play against them. They have no problems in the table, while we know that we must win tomorrow.”
The Bianconeri have several players out of action, including Weston McKennie, who will remain on the sidelines for two months after an injury sustained against Villareal this week.
“We have enough players, some of the U23 are ready to play. Miretti, Soulé and Aké have been training with us lately, but with all these injuries, they’ll spend more time with us,” said Allegri.
“I will make my assessment today. I need to see who feels well in defence. Leonardo Bonucci played 45 minutes in Spain and he was not expected to do so.
“We are sorry for McKennie. He is the only player with certain characteristics. Too bad for Kaio Jorge, who suffered a terrible injury.
“We are waiting for them and Chiesa. We’ll assess Bernardeschi, Rugani and Dybala, who could be, I repeat, could be, available against Fiorentina [on Wednesday]. Chiellini will remain out also next week. Alex Sandro won’t be available tomorrow.”
How about Dusan Vlahovic? Could he play his sixth game in a row?
“Tomorrow, Moise Kean could play, if he does, one between Vlahovic and Alvaro Morata will rest. Kean always has chances to score, so I am very serene.
“We are fighting on all fronts, even if the Scudetto is hard. Actually impossible,” said Allegri.
“We are out of the title race, I think that 85 points will be enough to win the title and we can’t reach that. We have a Coppa Italia semi-final against Fiorentina and the Champions League against Villareal.
“At the moment, it’s a good season. Let’s see which trophies we can lift, it’s not easy to win every year.
“The important thing is to improve, but we have to do more in some situations,” Allegri continued.
“We need to be better when we have the ball. The other day in Champions League, we managed the ball well in some situations, but some other times, we should have been more in control, especially when the opponents did not press much.”
Why are Juventus struggling to score consistently?
“We made many mistakes in Spain and didn’t make the most of some opportunities. We have to improve, we had a few chances against Villarreal and we should have been more clear-headed in the final third.
“Villarreal played with a high defensive line. Vlahovic is scoring goals and I am happy with his Champions League debut as I am happy with how the team is working.
“We must understand the right moment to ‘kill’ the opponents. We were doing well against Villarreal, but then we conceded a goal because we were too naive. When you play at a high level, you can’t give your opponents the chance to get back in the game.”