Mutti: 'Juve haven't beaten Palermo yet'

Bortolo Mutti has an injury crisis on his hands, but trusts Palermo can cause an upset against unbeaten Juventus. “We’re not defeated before kick-off.”

The Sicilians are without Matias Silvestre, Matias Aguirregaray and Federico Balzaretti, while Eros Pisano and Giulio Migliaccio picked up knocks in this morning’s training session.

A quartet of players sits this one out due to suspension, namely Nicolas Bertolo, Andrea Mantovani, Massimo Donati and Abel Hernandez.

“I can only field one system because all these absentees leave me no other option, but that doesn’t take away from the fact we must go out there with the spirit of a side that wants to hurt its opponent,” said Coach Mutti.

“Palermo are not defeated before kick-off in this game. We must face this situation with great maturity. It is a difficult moment and we are taking on an important match, so hopefully adrenaline will help us through.

“It’s particularly complicated in defence, as some of our youth team players could make their Serie A debuts. Either way, it looks like we’ll have defenders who are under 20.”

The Rosanero are boosted by last week’s unexpected 3-1 victory at Bologna, their first away win of the season, and the return of Fabrizio Miccoli from compassionate leave.

Palermo squad: Brichetto, Tzorvas, Viviano; Di Chiara, Kosnic, Labrin, Milanovic, Munoz, Pisano; Acquah, Alvarez, Bacinovic, Barreto, Della Rocca, Ilicic, Migliaccio, Vazquez, Zahavi; Budan, Mehmeti, Miccoli