17 October 2014
Sassuolo manager Eusebio Di Francesco feels that his outfit are in for a tough test when Juventus visit the Mapei Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Pescara-born tactician, who returned to the Neroverdi dugout in March 2014 to steer his squad away from relegation, admits that a challenging proposition awaits for Sassuolo tomorrow night but believes they still have the quality come away from the game with something.
Addressing the media in Reggio Emilia, Di Francesco began: “It’s a game that anyone would want to play in, including myself! It’s important we get a result tomorrow because we’re a bit behind in the league. We know that we’ve got a tough match ahead of us up against the league leaders.”
With regards to the ingredients his team need to confront an opponent like the reigning champions, he remarked: “We need to show plenty of heart, commitment and everything else they possess in their locker when coming up against Juve. They’re a side who haven’t made many changes and brought in some quality during the summer.”
Asked how he would set his team out for tomorrow evening's encounter, the 45-year-old chose to keep his cards close to his chest: “Those who figured in the international fixtures are available, but I won’t comment on my system for tomorrow as I don’t want to give our opponents any advantage.”
Casting his mind back to the corresponding fixture last time out, the Neroverdi boss felt his side gave a good account for themselves on that wet night at the Mapei Stadium in April and hopes they’ll put in a similar display tomorrow evening.
"We began last season’s encounter in great fashion and even though I believed we put in a great performance, they ran out 3-1 winners."
He concluded: “I'm very happy with how my charges trained over the last two weeks. We’ll look to give Juventus a run for their money right until the end.”
