14 December 2018
Massimiliano Allegri is expecting a stern test of Juventus' credentials when they face Torino in the derby on Saturday night – a match he feels is the hardest of the Bianconeri's remaining four fixtures in 2018.“We'll be up against a team that have only lost three league games all season. They're doing really well,” the coach told reporters at a news conference on Friday. “We need to keep the results coming. Tomorrow is the start of a busy run of games before the break and it will be very difficult. We'll need to play with the right energy. We want to maintain our lead at the top when we reach the midway point of the season.”
TEAM NEWS
“Mattia Perin will be in goal. [Mattia] De Sciglio will play at right-back and Alex Sandro at left-back. “[Giorgio] Chiellini will come back into the team. He's improved loads and right now he's the best centre-back in the world. Alongside him it will be either [Leo] Bonucci or [Daniele] Rugani. “[Miralem] Pjanic will start in midfield but I've not made up my mind whether to go with Emre Can or one of [Federico] Bernardeschi and Douglas Costa.“[Mario] Mandzukic and [Cristiano] Ronaldo will lead the attack. Cristiano will sit out one of the next three games, against Roma, Atalanta or Sampdoria.”
INJURY UPDATE
“[Joao] Cancelo had a problem with his knee this morning, his medial meniscus. He'll be unavailable until after the break. “[Juan] Cuadrado also has a knee problem and he'll be assessed over the coming days to see if he can start training with the team again or if he needs to undergo a minor operation.”
FACING MAZZARRI
“[Walter] Mazzarri is doing a great job at Torino and they're in contention for the Europa League spots. His teams always play with great character. We learnt from two different coaches – him with [Renzo] Ulivieri and me with [Giovanni] Galeone.“We'll need to display both skill and character tomorrow. It will be the toughest game of the four we have left to play in 2018.”
