- | Serie A | - Juventus vs Sassuolo | -

16:59 - TRAINING COMPLETED - Juventus ended the session on the eve of the game against Sassuolo. Tomorrow, Massimiliano Allegri will rely to 4-3-1-2, after temporarily abandoned in the Italian Cup and the match against Roma. In defense there will be from right to left Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini and Evra. In midfield Allegri will field its best men Vidal, Marchisio and Pogba. Pereyra will act as a playmaker. In the attack, according to Sky Sports, there will certainly Tevez, his side will play one of Morata or Llorente.

I will be really disappointed if we don't win this match. We must take our opportunities and be 11 points ahead already...

Martin Caceres is out of tomorrow night’s Juventus-Sassuolo after spraining his ankle in training.

It kicks off on Monday at 20.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.

Uruguay international Caceres has been ruled out by a sprained left ankle that will require further tests.

However, Stefano Sturaro and Kingsley Coman are both available after shaking off muscular problems.

Andrea Pirlo remains out for another couple of weeks, joined by Kwadwo Asamoah, Romulo and Luca Marrone.

Juventus squad for Sassuolo: Buffon, Chiellini, Ogbonna, Pogba, Pepe, Marchisio, Morata, Tevez, Coman, Llorente, Barzagli, De Ceglie, Bonucci, Padoin, Vidal, Lichtsteiner, Sturaro, Storari, Matri, Evra, Rubinho, Pereyra

Allegri 'not worried' about Juve


Max Allegri insists he is “not worried” by recent Juventus form ahead of tomorrow’s game with Sassuolo.

It kicks off on Monday at 20.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.

“I am not worried,” assured the Coach in a Press conference this morning. “The goals we conceded are mistakes that must be analysed, identified and avoided.

“We have to improve these things, but we’re still in mid-March and in the running for all three competitions.”

On Thursday Juve suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat to Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia semi-final, their first loss in this stadium since April 2013.

“We analysed the game with Fiorentina. I would make all my decisions again, given the chance. We had four or five chances to score and Fiorentina barely came out of their own half until the last five minutes.

“The performance is not to be written off completely. We should avoid these mistakes on set plays and counter-attacks.”

Allegri slammed the negativity around Juve’s recent performances and maintained fans ought to be “proud of this team.

“I want to point out this squad won the Scudetto three times in a row. People are taking a fourth for granted, but so few teams have achieved that. I feel the enthusiasm has been lost around us.

“It was unthinkable for us to already secure the title in February. These things take time and people should see the positives as well as the negatives.

“On Monday we have a difficult game against Sassuolo. Will there be a trial by media if we don’t win? I keep my feet on the ground.

“I know facing Sassuolo is tough, as they cost me my job at Milan last season. They have a lot of quality and those three forwards are devastating when running into space.

“We have conceded too many goals recently and must improve on those situations. However, considering the situation, our performances haven’t seemed so horrible. It’s up to me to change a few positions.”

Allegri is so wrong about Fiorentina btw, they utterly dominated us and for the first time I massively disagree with him

When is Asamoah back?

@Tom: they didn't dominate, but our chances weren't so good anyways.

Tomwin Lannister wrote:Allegri is so wrong about Fiorentina btw, they utterly dominated us and for the first time I massively disagree with him

Well he mustn't let our motivation drop. He is kind of protecting the players as you can see in his interview he says
'“On Monday we have a difficult game against Sassuolo. Will there be a trial by media if we don’t win? I keep my feet on the ground.'

Cáceres fractured his ankle.. He will miss the remainder of the season.

Injuries killing our season..

The official site is not about recovery time, but in cases of accidents like the times are quite long by 60 to 90 days, Caceres risks seeing finished their season.

so I guess we will play 352 more often if licht is not there

Buffon out of tonight's game with flu like symptoms.

Are we in an injury crisis yet? Lol

salmano9 wrote:When is Asamoah back?

@Tom: they didn't dominate, but our chances weren't so good anyways.

we could barely get out of our own half after the first portion of the game. 2nd half we were outclassed.

Chiellini must be benched...

Tomwin Lannister wrote:

salmano9 wrote:When is Asamoah back?

@Tom: they didn't dominate, but our chances weren't so good anyways.

we could barely get out of our own half after the first portion of the game. 2nd half we were outclassed.

The same is happening in this game... We aren't playing like Italian champions. They are closing the defense on us.

Pepe He is back

Thanks Pogba

THE BEAST IS COMING ON !! THE WALL !!!

Ugliest win ever lol....

DeviAngel wrote:THE BEAST IS COMING ON !! THE WALL !!!

Hahahaha, I didn't see him touch a ball.

salmano9 wrote:

DeviAngel wrote:THE BEAST IS COMING ON !! THE WALL !!!

Hahahaha, I didn't see him touch a ball.

Won 1 duel, touched the ball 2.

I love that player I was overjoyed when I saw him entering the field.

It was deserved win. We never stopped attacking.

Kudos to Allegri for the 4-3-3

What a beautiful sight that is, Andrea back on the pitch finally

Now we have +11 pts (technically +12). Hope this win gives a little bit more confidence to our team.

Why do you say its technically 11? Is it cuz we won them on aggregate? lets just keep it 11 lol, cuz they may lead by 1 point in the end...

@Devi: Lets see if he will be back to his old form XD

Something about vidal: He still has the fighting spirit in defense, but I think that he forgot how to attack and dribble and SHOOT!

Because even if Roma gets 11 points they can't overtake with us because we have a better head-to-head record. That means Roma has to win by at least a point, no matter what.

Sadly Vidal seems like his passing and finishing won't be coming back any time soon.

I wouldn't drop him but I'd definitely be subbing him occasionally past the 60th min mark.

Seeing bonucci trouble a keeper from just over the half way line brought a smile to my face lol.

Pogba: 'Juve need the fans'


Paul Pogba told off Juventus fans for jeering their 1-0 win over Sassuolo, which was “very important for the Scudetto.”

The Frenchman found the net at the 83rd minute in a hard-fought match that put Juve 11 points clear at the top of the table.

“Am I the Scudetto winner? No, the team won the game. It was a very, very difficult match and the victory is very important for this Scudetto,” Pogba told Sky Sport Italia.

“The pass was for someone else, but I felt it and I went for the ball. It went well.”

There were loud jeers from the stands at half-time, as supporters were frustrated after Thursday’s 2-1 Coppa Italia defeat to Fiorentina.

“I thank the whole team and the fans. It’s tough for them too, but we need them throughout the season. I want to tell the supporters we need you, especially if we are playing badly, because we all win together.”

The 21-year-old was asked whether he was becoming a leader in the Juventus locker room.

“I can always do more and if I want to become a great player it means always giving more on the field and in training.

“Am I a leader? No, I am a player in the team. Even if I am young, I will say something to my teammate if it’s needed.”

Allegri: 'Scudetto is not won'



Max Allegri said Juventus have “absolutely not” won the Scudetto after beating Sassuolo and replied to Antonio Conte.

The Bianconeri moved 11 points clear of Roma, but only squeezed past Sassuolo with a late Paul Pogba goal.

“Sassuolo worked hard and pressed us in the first half, but we were also too determined to go through the middle,” Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.

“As time went on, we moved the ball around quicker and played with greater intensity. I like 1-0 wins, as they keep you on your toes and tactically I thought the lads did well.”

At a certain stage Allegri introduced Simone Pepe and moved to a 4-4-2 system.

“I was trying to open up the play, especially with Pepe who is excellent on crosses for Fernando Llorente. On the other side, Pogba could give more width with Carlos Tevez and then move into the box.

“The lads did pretty well, though in some circumstances we were too hasty and the midfielders wandered around, leaving few reference points for our defenders.

“Alvaro Morata is good at being a centre-forward, but today went a bit too wide and was hardly ever in the box tonight. He did good things, but outside the penalty area.”

Has the Coach ever thought about placing Pogba behind the strikers rather that Arturo Vidal or Roberto Pereyra?

“I think he’d struggle there, but I could be wrong. He has these long legs and needs a bit of space to get running, so there’s a lot of traffic in that area.

“For example, with no space between the lines, Pereyra struggled in that position this evening.”

Allegri denied suggestions Juventus are struggling for fitness levels and sharpness at this stage of the season.

“From the statistics, the team always ends the game improving in the last 15 minutes. Many players have been used a lot, unfortunately injuries forced me to use the same defenders early in the season and now the same midfielders.

“Pepe has been fully recovered, so he is another important alternative we’ve got, especially when we need to spread the play.

“We’ve lost Martin Caceres, but Andrea Barzagli returned tonight. We’ll get there, a bit at a time.”

Italy Coach Antonio Conte joked with reporters today that if Juve had his ‘grit’ then “they’d be 20 points clear” at the top rather than 11.

Some took this to be egotistical from the former Bianconeri boss, others pointed out his jokey tone. Allegri seemed unimpressed.

“I want to talk about the Juventus of this year and I don’t like comparisons. For all the players and fans, the important thing is to achieve our objectives.

“Even if we got the bad result against Fiorentina, which was a decent performance despite everyone leaping on us to criticise, we did have the chances to equalise.”

With an 11-point lead over Roma, is the Scudetto now under lock and key?

“Absolutely not. There’s a long way to go, we need to be calm and balanced, there’s no rush. We have a series of games coming up in Serie A, the Champions League and Coppa Italia.

“The Scudetto is the primary objective, the Champions League is a dream and in the Coppa Italia we’ll see if we can be good enough to turn it around.”