Allegri: Juve must beat Udinese tomorrow

Mercifully the international break is now over and Juventus are back. The Bianconeri head into a 22-day stretch with seven games to play, including a couple of crucial Champions League fixtures as well. The spell starts with a match against Udinese tomorrow, and manager Massimiliano Allegri spoke with the media.

AS Roma and Napoli face off before the Juve game. The Neapolitans are in second place four points behind while the Giallorossi are a further point adrift in third.

"Tomorrow we must beat Udinese to take points from Roma, Napoli, or both.

"We must approach Udinese with caution: they have some good players and an excellent new coach."

Allegri commented on teenage sensation Moise Kean, who has been the subject of many transfer rumours lately -

"Kean will join the squad. He's a talent but at 16 years old, he needs more matchday experience."

On the injury front, he named three players who are confirmed out.

“Marko Pjaca, Daniele Rugani and Kwadwo Asamoah will all miss out.

“Medhi Benatia is fit and may start from the off tomorrow. 3 or 4 at the back? We'll see after training.

"Best wishes to Arkadiusz Milik and Ricardo Montolivo, who have been desperately unlucky with injuries recently."

Speaking of injuries, Il Principino Claudio Marchisio is almost fully fit now.

"Marchisio had a good 45 minutes with the reserves, but we must look out for unforeseen dangers with muscle problems. The ideal scenario would be to give him a bit of time during the forthcoming matches, as all the others are available.

"Marchisio is an important available player, one of the most important players for the years to come, but I will always exercise caution when a player returns from a cruciate injury. You have to be cautious and careful, his knee has healed but after six months of inactivity, other issues can occur."

He spoke about what role he envisioned for Mario Lemina -

"I see Lemina as more of a roaming midfielder but in time he'll become a fine anchorman."

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Allegri said that one of Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala would play tomorrow, but he wasn’t sure who. The South American contingent had been trickling in returning from their international fixtures.

"I do not know who came late, some arrived yesterday after eighteen hour flights some trained indoors instead of at Vinovo. The international break went well, some players won, others did not."

The press conference ended with Allegri commenting on the upcoming Champions League tie -

“The game against Lyon is the first of two massive games. They are one of our direct qualification rivals.

“Whatever the competition, we'll approach both games in the best possible fashion."