Rafael Leao will be in the XI against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Douglas Luiz will be back for Juventus after missing four matches. Paulo Fonseca made the announcement during the pre-game presser (via Sky).
“He will play start Tuesday. We expect the usual from him: to be deciding. I don’t think this topic has been discussed too much. I know what’s important to me and the team. We’ll tackle this game with great motivation. We know we’ll face a contender to win it all. It’s an opportunity to show our value by facing the best players and team with courage. We think we can have a nice game. We won’t play with two strikers since Tammy Abraham isn’t in tip-top shape. Maybe he’ll come off the bench.”
Leao was benched in three consecutive fixtures. Juventus will welcome back Luiz but not Nicolas Gonzalez, who has a shot to come back for the Turin derby. Thiago Motta addressed a couple of stars on Monday (via TuttoSport).
“Teun Koopmeiners is crucial to us and had a nice performance against Udinese like the rest of the squad. We have to forge ahead like this. We need Dusan Vlahovic and everybody else. He’s in great form and must continue as he’s doing. We have a lot of faith in him.”
Motta doesn’t believe in having a consistent XI.
“Each has his own philosophy, and I’m 200 percent confident in mine. As long as I’m here, the decisions will be made based on the moments. You always learn and get better. We must be determined to have a strong display since they are doing well too.”
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