29 August 2015
Rudi Garcia has urged his men to push for a first win of the Serie A season when they face Juventus on Sunday at 18.00 CEST at the Stadio Olimpico.
The Frenchman also underlined the need for the Giallorossi to make the most of the fact that they are playing the encounter on home soil.
He began: “We must play to win and take full advantage of playing in front of our own supporters. We’re at the start of the season. Barely any of the teams are 100 per cent on top of their respective games at this point, but we’ve trained hard to reach peak condition for tomorrow’s match”
Roma began their campaign with a 1-1 draw away at Verona in an encounter which had seen them fall a goal behind before Alessandro Florenzi’s equaliser in the second half.
And Garcia emphasised the need for his charges to begin tomorrow’s match with the high level of intensity with which they ended the last.
“I want to see us get out of the traps more quickly than we did against Verona. We need to approach the start of tomorrow’s contest as if we’re already chasing the game and play aggressively for the win.”
Asked about who he would field against the Bianconeri, the 51-year-old revealed he was almost certain about the starting line-up, the only doubt surrounding the left-back position, an area which the Giallorossi reinforced with the arrival last week of Lucas Digne from Paris Saint-Germain.
On the visitors, the 51-year-old maintained that his opposite number Massimiliano Allegri still has a very strong squad at his disposal after a busy transfer window in Turin.
“I am 90 per cent sure about who will play tomorrow. I’m just waiting to see if (Vasilis) Torosidis is available. If he’s fully fit, he’ll operate on the left to give Digne time to settle. (Daniele) De Rossi wasn’t able to play the whole 90 minutes at Verona, but he’s in good shape now. Maicon isn’t ready yet, but is making a strong recovery.”
He concluded: “Juventus have bought some quality players. They remain an excellent team that has won the last four league titles.”
