Juventus Coach Antonio Conte hopes Milan will “shoot themselves in the foot” and could start Marco Borriello against hometown club Napoli tomorrow.
“After this game there will be another eight and I have to say this is going to be a probing test for us,” said Conte ahead of the Sunday evening showdown.
Juventus Coach Antonio Conte hopes Milan will “shoot themselves in the foot” and could start Marco Borriello against hometown club Napoli tomorrow.
“After this game there will be another eight and I have to say this is going to be a probing test for us,” said Conte ahead of the Sunday evening showdown.
“Napoli have done well to reach the Coppa Italia Final and went so close to the Champions League quarter-finals. In fact, seeing how Chelsea beat Benfica, I believe the Partenopei could’ve reached the semi.
“This club has grown so much and it is thanks to President Aurelio De Laurentiis, who constructed a long-term project that improved year by year. Walter Mazzarri and his players also did something extraordinary and only paid a price for not having that much strength in depth. The Champions League takes a lot out of you, as I know from when I played in it.
“Their strikers can be decisive when given space and are so dangerous. Mazzarri is a great Coach and I respect him. I believe that I am too and will be in years to come.”
Juventus changed their system to mirror that of Napoli in their spectacular 3-3 draw at the San Paolo on November 6, an approach many sides have since taken.
“Strangely, since we played with the 3-5-2 in Naples, everyone has adopted this system. Napoli are an atypical side, as they often over-run you. We will evaluate all options, as we can also play with a 4-3-3.
“Borriello and Fabio Quagliarella could both start tomorrow and are highly motivated to play against their hometown club. Fabio is going through a difficult year, while Marco perhaps would’ve had a different season if he had arrived in June.”
Juventus are in second place and hope to close the four-point gap from leaders Milan.
“If we win tomorrow, then we put second place under lock and key. It would be extraordinary to reach the Champions League without a preliminary round, but we are also keeping an eye open to take advantage of any slip-ups…
“The Scudetto is in Milan’s hands and only they can lose it. Our fixture list is tougher than theirs in the run-in, but if they were to shoot themselves in the foot…”