Tesser: 'Juve a big occasion'

Attilio Tesser feels Novara are fuelled by the “atmosphere of the big occasion” as Juventus come to visit with guests Michel Platini and Giampiero Boniperti.

This is a local derby that has not been seen in Serie A for 55 years and is extra special because Juve legends Platini and Boniperti will be in the stands, invited as their families originate from the Novara area.

“There is the atmosphere of the big occasion around this game and the stadium will be packed out, while you can already breathe the air of excitement in the city. However, we must not be touched by that,” said Tesser.

“We hope to make our intentions become real on the pitch. Facing this team, at this stage of the season and with everything this game could be worth, fires us up to a remarkable degree.

“I wanted to see a reaction after the Napoli defeat and it was there when we beat Lazio. Now I hope to see the same determination tomorrow.”

Novara are practically relegated and would mathematically go down tomorrow afternoon if they lost and Genoa were to win.

“We must not leave the game in Juve’s hands. Of course they are a squad of immense value, but it would be a mistake to focus only on defence. We must know how to turn the situation around and stop them coming forward.

“Juventus have extraordinary intensity and attack you for the entire 90 minutes. It would be terrible to let them come at us from the opening minute, especially as the start of a match can give you confidence.

“I am evaluating whether to use the 3-5-2 or the 4-3-1-2 system. It depends on the condition of some players and also how Juve run out.”