Massimiliano Allegri spoke at Castel Volturno before Napoli face Juventus at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday. The match kicks off at 20:45 CET, with the two teams level on 14 points.
Match context
Napoli beat Monza 4-1 on Wednesday, with Rasmus Højlund opening the scoring. Juventus lost 2-0 at Genoa and have spent the last two days on retreat at the J Hotel.
Allegri said: "I agree. I’ve heard that in the media they’re giving Juve up for dead, but Juventus rarely die."
Allegri said: "They’re a strong team with a good coach, and in moments like these they pull together, so it will be very hard for us. We’ll need a great technical and physical performance, and a pinch of luck."
Touchline absence
Allegri will not be on the touchline because he is serving the second game of his two-match ban, so assistant Marco Landucci takes charge.
Lobotka setback
Allegri said: "We’ve lost Lobotka, who’s an important player. In our misfortune we were lucky, because he should be back in six weeks. Thankfully his foot wasn’t planted, otherwise it would have been a disaster."
Other squad updates
Allegri said Napoli will get Spinazzola, Neres and Favasuli back after the break, while Alisson may be further behind.
Allegri said: "Rrahmani had the flu. He trained yesterday, and today we’ll see how he is, because we also play on Wednesday. If he’s well enough he’ll play, otherwise it will be one of Marianucci and Beukema."
Allegri said: "Anguissa too… there’s a flu virus going around, every now and then it knocks one of them out. If he’s fine he plays, otherwise someone else does."
Allegri said Napoli's objective is to get to the end of the season in the top four, get through in the Champions League and stay in the Coppa Italia.
