Andrea Pirlo warned Juventus of the perils of the return leg versus Inter and announced that Gianluigi Buffon and Dejan Kulusevski will be in the starting XI. He did not confirm the report coming from Tuttosport about Alvaro Morata and Arthur being in danger of missing the match due to a stomach bug, with the midfielder said to be in worse shape between the two. They tested negative for COVID.
He stated in the pre-game presser: “It will be the second round of a great clash, it could give us the opportunity to reach the final, which is a goal we must obtain at all costs. It will be a tough and difficult game, a proper battle. We will have to play as we are capable of, like in the most recent tilts. We must think as if we are starting from a scratch, we can not rely too much on the result of last week’s game. We must be focused an aggressive because the objective is too big to let it slip away.”
Inter will have Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi back from suspension, while Arturo Vidal is banned. The Juventus gaffer commented on the moment of his side: “We are fine, obviously we are a little tired but we knew beforehand that the season would long and strenuous. I am confident about out mental state, we are very tight and positive, we play as a team and help each other out, which is always good for the results. Buffon will be between the sticks tomorrow and also Kulusevski will get the nod up front.”
On the injury front, Paulo Dybala practiced fully today after missing three weeks with a knee sprain and is therefore eyeing a return in short order.