Juventus vs Torino - Allegri focused on Torino as Juventus close in on Serie A title - 7M sport

Juventus vs Torino - Allegri focused on Torino as Juventus close in on Serie A title



Posted Friday, May 05, 2017 by PA

Massimiliano Allegri has reminded his players there is much more than pride at stake in the Derby della Mole as Juventus look to wrap up an historic sixth straight Serie A title.

Should the Bianconeri beat their city rivals Torino at Juventus Stadium on Saturday evening, second-placed Roma will send the Scudetto to Turin if they go on to drop points against AC Milan on Sunday night.

That outcome would cap a memorable week for Juve, who put one foot in the Champions League final with a 2-0 first-leg victory at Monaco on Wednesday, while the Old Lady also have the Coppa Italia final to look forward to.

Allegri will not allow any distractions to jeopardise the task at hand, however.

The head coach said at his pre-match press conference: "It is a very important edition of the Derby della Mole - for us the Scudetto is on the line.

"Now is the time for us to go out and win the title, then we can worry about getting into the Champions League final and winning the Coppa Italia.

"Getting to the end of the season is not easy but over the last 20 days I've seen the lads full of enthusiasm and playing better and better with each game that comes.

"The team are in good shape, both mentally and physically, and they played a fantastic game against Monaco.

"Torino are in good form, too, and we will have to both resist them and push back hard to get a positive result."

Veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, 39, rolled back the years to keep a clean sheet against the dynamic young team from Monte Carlo and he has been afforded a rest for the derby, with Neto coming in between the sticks.

Classy midfielder Claudio Marchisio keeps his place after an impressive showing at the Stade Louis II, as does the ball-playing centre-back Leonardo Bonucci.

"The changes that I have made should not prejudice the team performance tomorrow," added Allegri.

"Marchisio is close to getting back to being the player he used to be, he's improved a lot recently.

"Football is not always about who has the technique, but it's about what's in your head. It's about professionalism, and it's about sacrifice."

Torino boss Sinisa Mihajlovic admits his side will need to play the "perfect game" to deny Juve the win they crave.

Speaking the day after the anniversary of the Superga air disaster, which killed an entire Torino team in 1949, the Serbian told torinofc.com: "May 4 will never be an ordinary day for Granata fans.

"We have all seen how much love the fans have for Il Toro and the club's history.

"Tomorrow we will have to play the perfect game. We will have to make sure we exploit those few chances that we are granted. We will have to be angry throughout and stay focused so that we don't let them score.

"We know that if we play like we know we can then we'll put them in difficulties, but they will not be distracted because it is not part of their mentality."

Defender Lorenzo De Silvestri is unavailable through injury but Torino are otherwise at full strength, with striker Andrea Belotti expected to lead the line as he pursues a 26th goal of the season.



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