11 March 2023
Two days after Juve earned a precious first leg victory over Freiburg in the Europa League last 16, Massimiliano Allegri presented the next match in the hectic fixture list, the Serie A encounter with Sampdoria, tomorrow, Sunday 12 March.
The coach touched on various topics, not only the players' fitness, but also the approach required to face the team at the foot of the table.
NO ROOM FOR MISTAKES
"Sampdoria at first glance seem beatable, but their last few results can be misleading because they have been running their opponents very close indeed. It's an important match because we can go second - that is where we are with what we have done on the pitch and that’s the only thing that counts.
"It is not a decisive week, but certainly an important one. Winning the "small matches" are vital in the league. Head-to-heads are more balanced, you can win them or lose them, that’s why we must not get the smaller games wrong."
TEAM TALK
"Paul [Pogba] is available, while [Mattia] Perin and [Dušan] Vlahović will play. [Federico] Chiesa is out tomorrow but hopefully he’ll be back for Thursday, like [Angel] Di Maria, who’ll be rested. Both [Mattia] De Sciglio and [Samuel] Iling-Junior will return. [Mattia] Compagnon from our Next Gen team will be called up, while we hope to have [Arkadiusz] Milik back for the match against Inter."
“The plan was to play [Leonardo] Bonucci tomorrow, then Alex Sandro got injured so Leo played more minutes against Freiburg. Tomorrow we'll understand how he is to see if he will play from the first minute.In midfield, I have to decide between [Leandro] Paredes and [Enzo] Barrenechea, while tomorrow morning I will evaluate the rest of the players.
"It doesn't matter who plays, we have to have the right approach. The important thing is that the team understands the importance of this match."
