MY ACCOUNT
Massimiliano Allegri confirmed Juventus stars Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala will return against Villarreal in the Champions League, while he hailed the partnership between Dusan Vlahovic and Alvaro Morata.
The Bianconeri were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the last-16 clash between the pair on February 22, leaving it all to play for in the return meeting on Wednesday in Turin.
History favours the Italian hosts at the Allianz Stadium, given Juve have won each of their last six Champions League home games – only managing more consecutive such victories once in the competition (10 games between 1996 and 1997).
Allegri’s side will also be boosted by the return of Dybala and Chiellini, who have not featured in over a month due to muscle injuries, but they will be without Leonardo Bonucci and Alex Sandro.
“Chiellini, Dybala and [Federico] Bernardeschi are back,” Allegri told reporters at Tuesday’s pre-match news conference.
“They are three important returns, we hope to win the game in normal time otherwise we will have to do it in extra time.
“Tomorrow the substitutions will be important. Chiellini, Dybala and Bernardeschi are not ready to play 90 minutes, but they can be important changes.
“Bonucci is out: at Empoli and with Villarreal in the first leg, he was struggling with injury and made himself available to the team. He has a calf problem that will keep him out.
“Alex [Sandro] felt something in his calf and I do not want to risk it, since it is not the last game of the season. [Denis] Zakaria will maybe come back on Thursday, otherwise after the international break.”
Vlahovic became just the third player in Champions League history to score inside the first minute on their debut in the competition, after Andreas Moller (for Borussia Dortmund v Juventus) and Ishak Belfodil (for Hoffenheim v Manchester City).
Allegri revealed that the former Fiorentina striker will start against Unai Emery’s side, while he praised the recent form of the Serbian forward and partner Morata.
“Vlahovic will play, Morata is in good form and he’s always had quality,” Allegri added. “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.”
As for Juve’s chances of winning the competition, Allegri – who has twice guided the Bianconeri to the Champions League final – insisted that his side must leave everything on the pitch and not have any regrets.
“I have clear ideas, hopefully, I’ll get it right. The team is feeling well. It’s the decisive moment of the season,” he 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.
“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, the 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.”
