Former Novara Coach Emiliano Mondonico believes Juventus should be wary of today’s trip to the Stadio Piola.
Former Novara Coach Emiliano Mondonico believes Juventus should be wary of today’s trip to the Stadio Piola.
“Novara are a team who get some excellent results on home turf, as proved by recent successes against Udinese” data-scaytid=”33″>Udinese and Lazio” data-scaytid=”34″>Lazio,” he told TMW.
“They will give their all and will certainly be a tough nut to crack. On paper the difference is enormous, but football matches are not decided on paper.
“In any case, I am sure Juve will be concentrated, hungry and desperate for the Scudetto. The Bianconeri are going to have to give 100 per cent, otherwise they could have problems.
“When facing a side that is much stronger, it is natural to act more defensive, but that really isn’t in Novara’s mentality. For the last two years they were top of the table in Lega Pro and then Serie B, so fighting to avoid relegation was a new experience that many of their players were not accustomed to.
“The statistics confirm that, as they have the second worst defensive record in Serie A. At this moment they are not mathematically relegated, but that remains the final alibi,” continued Mondonico who had a brief spell on the bench from January 30 to March 6 before Attilio Tesser was recalled.
“I don’t think Juventus will slip up, because they know full well there could be banana skins on the road to the Scudetto and therefore look carefully where they’re treading.”