Allegri happy with Dybala resurgence

By Football Italia staff

Max Allegri has refused to confirm whether Paulo Dybala will start Juventus-Roma but says “he’s back among the goals and I’m happy about that.”

Dybala scored his first goal in a month during Juve’s 2-0 win against Genoa midweek, and while he stopped short of naming the forward in his team for Saturday, Allegri assured benching him “doesn’t mean anything.”

“Buffon and De Sciglio are out, I’ll assess Mandzukic and Cuadrado today and they could be available,” the Coach said at a Press conference.

“The others, apart from Howedes, are fine. Preparation? Nothing’s changed, although we’ll see just how much panettone we all eat on the 25th! We’re in a good way at the moment.

“Barzagli or Lichtsteiner? I still have to make a decision on them, although I have 6/10 of the team clear in my head.

“These include Szczesny, Benatia, Chiellini, Alex Sandro and Higuain. I still have to see if I’ll play with the two or three midfielders.

“Dybala? I still have to decide who will play, but he’s back among the goals and I’m happy about that.

“In 2017, he was the player who played more than anyone else, 38 times. If he’s on the bench twice, it doesn’t mean anything.

“Di Francesco? He’s balancing a very difficult environment, where you can crash and burn in an instant.

“In fact, they’re a team that have conceded just 10 goals and only one away from home. They’re the team that have played the least number of minutes in Italy and have so much quality and balance.

“Mandzukic and Dybala? They can play together with three midfielders. It depends on our opponents and who plays at right-back.

“Lichtsteiner is different from Barzagli, whereas Cuadrado would give us even more thrust.”

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