Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri believes Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala will be available for selection against Villarreal tomorrow. He also stated that Alvaro Morata has more freedom with Dusan Vlahovic.
Dybala and Chiellini have not been on he field of play over a month due to muscle injuries but will be back to action tomorrow night against Villarreal.
“Chiellini, Dybala and Bernardeschi return. Hopefully, we’ll win in 90 minutes. Otherwise, we’ll need extra time. Substitutions will be important,” Allegri said at a press conference.
Bonucci is out, he played at Empoli and against Villarreal despite not feeling well. He has a calf problem and can’t get over it. Alex Sandro felt something in the soleus muscle, it’s tricky, so I won’t take any risk. It’s not the last game of the season.”
“We’ll assess Zakaria in the next few days, he could return on Thursday or after the break. We have the last two efforts and then we’ll have some time to recover,” Allegri added.
After a 1-1 draw in Spain three weeks ago, the old ladies need a win in Turin tomorrow to qualify for the quarter-finals.
“I have clear ideas, hopefully, I’ll get it right. The team is feeling well. It’s the decisive moment of the season,” the coach continued.
“We must have the ambition to reach the final, it’s a target we have so we must try. If we are good and lucky, we’ll make it, if the others are better than us, we won’t make it. We can’t have regrets, tomorrow is like a final that we play at home.
“Vlahovic will play, Morata is in good form and he’s always had quality. He was always criticised despite playing in a position that was not his natural one. I am happy with him, he is playing well with Vlahovic, he has more freedom on the pitch. We all feel well, we’ll also need a bit of luck to qualify.”
“However, we’ve done nothing so far. We can’t lose balance, we must keep our feet on the ground and take a step at a time. The target was to get to March and play for our targets. We are here, there’s adrenaline, fans will have to help us.
“Villarreal are an experienced team, with a very good coach. They concede almost nothing, we must make as few mistakes as possible and prepare the game well. We took some risks in Spain, but we also had a few chances to double the lead.
“The ball is smaller and heavier in March, it’s a funny moment of the season. We are in the race for three targets, now we need to reach them.”
Adapted from Football Italia
