Luca Gotti wants Udinese to be ‘aggressive’ against Juventus despite the growing striker injury crisis and ‘everyone has faith’ in Simone Scuffet.
It kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for a match preview.
Luca Gotti wants Udinese to be ‘aggressive’ against Juventus despite the growing striker injury crisis and ‘everyone has faith’ in Simone Scuffet.
It kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for a match preview.
“Juventus are a strong team with many talented players. If we want to bring home a positive result, we must defend aggressively in particular areas of the pitch and then cause them problems with the quality of our passing,” the coach told Udinese TV.
“We beat Juventus in July and it was a real shame that we couldn’t enjoy that moment with our fans, because that’s a memorable result. We also celebrated that day with the points to secure safety.”
While at the time, Juve were already crowned champions, now they are scrapping with Atalanta, Milan and Napoli for a Champions League spot.
“When big clubs are struggling, there will inevitably be lots of people giving their opinion. I don’t think Juventus will be distracted against us, as we all know the importance and prestige of the Champions League for this club.”
Gotti will have to cobble together an attack for tomorrow, because Jayden Braaf joined Ilija Nestorovski, Ignacio Pussetto, Gerard Deulofeu and Mato Jajalo on the treatment table.
“What’s happening at the moment seems outside of the norm, especially as they are all traumatic injuries that occur in pretty regular situations. We are struggling to explain why there have been so many injuries.
“They are also pretty much all focused on one area of the team, as Fernando Llorente won’t be available tomorrow either.”
Udinese have to make a change in goal too, as Juan Musso is suspended, so Scuffet will get his first Serie A start in 925 days.
“I spoke to Simone during the week and these were all pleasant conversations. We didn’t talk about the game specifically, as he is no longer a kid and has the experience to face these situations. He is an integrated part of the group and everyone has faith in him.”