24 October 2015
Massimiliano Allegri urges his men to kick on by registering their second Serie A home victory of the season when Atalanta travel to Juventus Stadium tomorrow night.
Last weekend’s goalless draw with Inter ushered in the start of a busy run of fixtures which will have a key impact on how the overall campaign will pan out for the reigning champions.
With consistency of results an issue that has hampered his side so far this term, Allegri is looking for the Bianconeri to push down on the accelerator and start racking up a series of wins.
Speaking to the media in Vinovo, he began: “We have some very difficult, important matches coming up and we desperately need to get our second home win, given that we've only beaten Bologna at home so far. Then we need to try and follow it up with other results.”
Putting maximum points on the board is imperative given the team's current position of 14th and Allegri echoed Andrea Agnelli’s views on the need for a swift rise up the table, expressed during yesterday’s shareholders’ meeting at Juventus Stadium.
“We should have more points and the president is absolutely right. Regardless of the changes there have been, Juventus can't be 14th.”
The Tuscan tactician admitted he will rotate his side for the visit of the Nerazzurri, enabling the likes of Juan Cuadrado and Andrea Barzagli to enjoy a well-earned breather.
“We have some players who could do with a rest and when they rest we get them to work. One of those players is Cuadrado.
“He definitely won't start tomorrow but he's available. Buffon will play. As for the others, I still need to look at a few things but what matters is they're fit.
“At the moment the only players we're missing are Lichtsteiner and Caceres but otherwise they're all available for selection.
“Tomorrow we'll play with Sturaro or Padoin at right-back – one of the two. We could operate in the same way in terms of system, perhaps with Pereyra in place of Cuadrado.”
One topic on the lips of many journalists in the club’s Vinovo press suite was that of Paulo Dybala, whose perceived lack of game time was promptly dispelled by Allegri.
The boss went on to say that the Argentine young gun will need time to adapt to his new surroundings, but backed his talent to shine through once he is fully in tune with the team’s way of playing.
He added: “Dybala has played more than any of our other strikers. He's a lad with fantastic ability and a great future. Last year he was Palermo's star player but that doesn't mean we can hand him the same responsibility at a club like Juventus. He could start tomorrow.”
