Juventus face Rennes at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin, with kick-off at 17.45 UK time and 18.45 CEST. Tension is high after a 3-0 home defeat to Lazio.
Europa League context
In the Europa League, Juventus beat NEC 5-0 and came back to win 2-1 away to Celta Vigo. The only previous meetings between Juventus and Rennes came in the two-legged Intertoto Cup Final of 1999, which Juventus won 4-2 on aggregate.
Selection and shape
For the first time, Woltemade and Kolo Muani start together upfront. Football Italia reported that this was a situation both strikers had made public appeals for several times in recent weeks. Spalletti decided to use a new 3-5-2 formation, although it could be a 3-4-1-2 with Weston McKennie in a free role.
Wiping the slate clean
Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia: "Every day produces something new, every day has meetings, discussions, even clashes at times, but that evening you wipe the slate clean, because if you don’t do that, the next day things pile up in your mind and it becomes difficult to deal with."
Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia: "We hope that we wiped the slate clean, we can focus on the next game, try to give the best indications, and hope for the optimal response also based on the things that they said. The players said some things, and I liked many of them, so we want to put this into practice."
Pressure and balance
Spalletti said: "The pitch always tells the truth. We’ve got to pay attention to the characteristics of the players and try to make the most of them. Nobody would be crazy enough to use Edon Zhegrova as a right-back, so we have to set out a system that will get the best out of their strengths."
Spalletti said: "It’s about finding the balance between all those elements, and then as you in the media always say, this jersey weighs heavily, people are not happy, but we carried those jeers with us into the locker room. We jeered ourselves in there."
Spalletti said: "The conscience of the players jeers in the silence of the locker room, so difficulties always force you to ask yourself a question: What person do you become under pressure? Are you the one who pushes forward, goes to get the next ball and wants to dig your way out of trouble, or are you afraid and therefore cannot stay within a club like this?"
Spalletti said: "This is the question that you have to ask yourself."