05 February 2022
On the eve of the first showdown for the Bianconeri of a hectic February, Massimiliano Allegri gave the lowdown ahead of the return to Serie A action against Hellas Verona, scheduled to kick off at 20h45 (CET) on Sunday, 6 February.
UNITED VISION
"The club did a great job over the transfer market, making a significant economic effort to bring in two important players. The club was very good at thinking and acting quickly, and has given me and the fans a huge gift. Juventus always works towards building the future.
"The arrival of the two players makes everyone more responsible, but the objectives do not change. We had to reach our objectives regardless of the transfer market. Our goal is to finish in the top three or four places. We set off at the beginning of the year to achieve these objectives, and they remain the same."
NEW ARRIVALS
"Dusan Vlahovic has already scored a lot in his career and has characteristics we didn't have in attack. With Erling Haaland, he is one of the best strikers in that role. He is bright, and full of desire to improve.
"I’ve seen Denis Zakaria in training this week. He is an intelligent player. In the practice match, he played in the inside midfield role and performed well, but he can also play in a two-man midfield. He intercepts well and has a long stride."
TEAM BALANCE
"We can play with three in attack, but if we play with three forwards, they have to run. The responsibility must be shared and not fall on the shoulders of Vlahovic. We must improve our finishing rate. We have been improving in training and we need to continue this improvement.
"The advantage is we have much more quality up front, but the team must keep its balance. The strength of a great team is to maintain a sense of balance."
IMPORTANT SOLUTIONS
"The biggest risk tomorrow is that we are playing a team that is doing a great job this season under Igor Tudor, and in the last four games Juve have never beaten Verona. The arrival of Vlahovic and Zakaria has us fired up, which is fine as long as we don't go over the top. Let's see tomorrow if I choose to play them.
"Weston McKennie returned this morning and will be available, just like Cuadrado, who arrived yesterday. It is possible that Danilo will play on the right side of the back four, and Mattia De Sciglio on the left.
"Locatelli is out, as is Bonucci, who has completed just two training sessions. Alex Sandro has tested negative for COVID and will be available from Monday.
"Arthur will play. I am happy that he has stayed. We have important solutions in the middle of the field."
