Juventus vs AS Roma - Allegri warns of threat still posed by struggling Roma

Posted Saturday, December 22, 2018 by PA

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri is surprised to see Roma struggling and expects to face strong opposition on Saturday.

The Giallorossi finished third in Serie A last season, but sit seventh in the table this term with only six wins from 16 games, a full 22 points behind leaders Juve.

Allegri said on juventus.com: “Roma are a very good technical side – the only other Italian team left in the Champions League alongside Juventus.

“Nobody was expecting them to be where they are in the table, but we cannot afford to take any match lightly. The table doesn’t tell the full story – it will only give a true picture on December 29, when we reach the halfway point of the season.

“The lads have had a great week. Tomorrow we need to be resilient, technically sound and physical because it’s the start of a very important week. We need to get the three points. It will be difficult – they have players that can win the game on their own.”

Allegri will start Giorgio Chiellini, Mattia De Sciglio, Alex Sandro, Miralem Pjanic and Cristiano Ronaldo, while Sami Khedira returns from injury and Rodrigo Bentancur is available after suspension.

Roma are still without injured captain Daniele De Rossi, but have been boosted by the return of striker Edin Dzeko, who has made the squad after missing the last five matches in all competitions with a muscle injury.

It remains to be seen just how great a part Dzeko will be able to play, though, with boss Eusebio Di Francesco confirming he would start on the bench.

“He is a player who has been out for more than 20 days and can not play from the first minute,” he said on the Roma website.