MY ACCOUNT
Massimiliano Allegri insisted it is “actually impossible” for Juventus to recover to win the Scudetto as he previewed Saturday’s clash with Empoli.
The Bianconeri have enjoyed an upturn in form since struggling at the start of the Serie A campaign, sitting in fourth as they fight with Atalanta for the final Champions League qualification spot.
Juve are also still in Europe’s elite competition – their last-16 tie with Villarreal finely poised after a 1-1 draw in the first leg – and the Coppa Italia, where they face Fiorentina in a two-legged semi-final clash across March and April.
Allegri was quick to quash suggestions Juve – who are unbeaten in 12 Serie A games – can still win the Scudetto this season, revealing he may rest either Dusan Vlahovic or Alvaro Morata on Saturday as he eyes success elsewhere.
“Tomorrow, Moise Kean could play. If he does, one of Vlahovic or Alvaro Morata will rest,” Allegri said at Friday’s pre-match news conference.
“Kean always has chances to score, so I am very calm. We are fighting on all fronts, even if the Scudetto is hard. Actually, impossible.
“We are out of the title race, I think that 85 points will be enough to win the title and we can’t reach that. We have a Coppa Italia semi-final against Fiorentina and the Champions League against Villarreal.
“At the moment, it’s a good season. Let’s see which trophies we can lift, it’s not easy to win every year. The important thing is to improve, but we have to do more in some situations.”
Juve could be 12 points adrift of leaders Milan by the time they are next in action, given Stefano Pioli’s men host Udinese on Friday.
Juve have won each of their last four top-flight visits to Empoli and Aurelio Andreazzoli’s side are winless in nine Serie A matches, their longest such streak since November 2018, but Allegri is aware of the threat they could pose.
“We lost in the reverse fixture and it’s never easy to play at Empoli,” he added.
“We need to give continuity to our recent results. We need solid performance and recharge batteries, physically and mentally.
“Empoli have three offensive players, it’s difficult to play against them. They have no problems in the table, we know that we must win tomorrow.
“We made many mistakes in Spain and didn’t make the most of some opportunities.
“We must understand the right moment to ‘kill’ the opponents. We were doing well against Villarreal, but then we conceded a goal because we were too naive.
“When you play at a high level, you can’t give your opponents the chance to get back in the game.”
Allegri will have to do without several key figures as well, with Weston McKennie, Paulo Dybala, Alex Sandro, and Giorgio Chiellini heading a growing list of absentees.
