Juventus will face Napoli without Paulo Dybala, Juan Cuadrado, Alex Sandro, Danilo, and Rodrigo Bentancur following international duties. Federico Chiesa is out with a thigh problem. Coach Massimiliano Allegri explained his reasoning in the pre-game presser: “It will certainly be a nice game; we will face an in-form team with strong technical values. It will not be hard to put together a lineup. I will leave the South Americans at home, as they will return tonight and tomorrow morning. Cuadrado could have made it, but he has gastroenteritis, and he is Columbia for check-ups.”
“The absences must not be an alibi for Juventus. We will try to get a positive result. We have a fun month ahead between Serie A and the Champions League. Weston McKennie worked well upon heading back, and he will start tomorrow. Instead, I decided to spare Chiesa as a precaution. He is not serene and risked making things worse. Mattia De Sciglio and Lorenzo Pellegrini are ready.”
“I will decide today whether to use a three-man defense, but it is not a matter of scheme. We are not in an emergency, as I have the ideal lineup to face Napoli. Juventus will need to dig deeper to get out of trouble. I have always focused primarily on the result, although the performances surely have to improve. We were frenetic against Empoli. The squad has to be stronger mentally.”
“We must accept the schedule; we will have 14 players plus three youngsters. The others will rest for Tuesday. Wojciech Szczesny bounced back after the blunder in Udine. He is our starter, although Mattia Perin is reliable. Juventus strongly targeted Moise Kean, and he would have joined regardless of Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure. Aaron Ramsey could be back with us next week; Kaio Jorge and Arthur need more time.”