Juventus will be without seven key players including Gleison Bremer, Arkadiusz Milik and Douglas Luiz for their Serie A home game against Atalanta, manager Thiago Motta said on Saturday.
Despite its injury setbacks, Juve is on a five-match winning streak in the league and sits fourth with 52 points, trailing third-placed Atalanta by three points.
“(Jonas) Rouhi, (Juan) Cabal, Bremer, Milik, Douglas Luiz, (Francisco) Conceicao and (Nicolo) Savona will not be there. The others are available and ready to start the match and to enter the match in progress,” Motta told reporters.
He said the available players have had intensive training for Sunday’s game, focusing on “physical, technical and psychological” aspects.
The 42-year-old emphasised the importance of a robust defence against Atalanta, while also considering fielding either Randal Kolo Muani or Dusan Vlahovic in attack.
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“Tomorrow we will have to be a very solid defence … Up to today, we have done very well because the forwards have done very well,” Motta said.
“Our idea doesn’t change; we’ll see if Vlahovic or Kolo Muani will play from the start.”
Sunday’s fixture will be special for midfielder Teun Koopmeiners as he will face his former club Atalanta but the Dutchman, who scored in Juve’s 2-0 win over Verona on Monday, will be under pressure to continue his improved form.
“There will always be criticism and it is part of this job,” Motta said. “In the last match, he came on very well and also scored a goal. I’m very happy for him because we live to score goals… I hope tomorrow he can be of great help to the team.”
The match will also bring Motta face-to-face with his former coach when he played at Genoa and Inter Milan, Gian Piero Gasperini, who now manages Atalanta.
“He is a great coach… Gasperini does not have to prove anything anymore because he has shown so much. He is a complete coach and has done a great job,” Motta added.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com