Juventus will face Porto without Leonardo Bonucci, as Andrea Pirlo ruled him out and he is rumoured to miss up to 20 days with a muscular injury. Aaron Ramsey is available after a thigh problem, while Paulo Dybala is not ready to play, according to the coach. Bonucci and Dybala will make the trip anyway to stay close to their teammates.
While Cristiano Ronaldo rallied the troops with an Instagram post centered on the return of Champions league, the captain Giorgio Chiellini spoke in the virtual pre-game presser alongside the gaffer, discussing the absence of his usual partner: “We are four really strong center-backs, each with his own traits. It is up to coach to decide, we have to be ready but we know that we will have to sit out some matches. Everything hinges on chemistry, things change depending on who plays next to you. I know Bonucci better than my wife since we have been playing together for over ten seasons, but I have practiced next to Matthijs De Ligt and Merih Demiral for a year and a half so I am familiar with them too.”
Chiellini vowed not to repeat the previous mistakes in the top continental competition: “Champions League is more difficult because you know the opponents less and there is a lot of physicality. We must not go down in the score. We mounted a comeback two years ago, while we could not versus Lyon. We botched the game and we have to learn from that. It will be different this time around.”