Angelo Alessio believes Juventus will face their toughest test of October when they take on an in-form Catania at the Angelo Massimino tomorrow lunchtime.
The Etnei currently occupy seventh place in Serie A and have yet to taste defeat on home soil.
And after coming through games against Shakhtar, Siena, Napoli and Nordsjaelland unscathed, Alessio has warned that Rolando Maran’s men represent the sternest battle so far.
Speaking to reporters at Juventus Center in Vinovo, Alessio said: “Catania have been an excellent side for a number of years. They’ve changed manager, but possess a group of players that have played together for some time. Last year they gave us difficulty in both games, and this season they held Napoli to a draw with ten men.
“We’ll face the game with extreme attention. They’ve got excellent players and are lethal on the counter attack. We usually display a high tempo in the second half, but tomorrow we'll need to dictate the game from the very off.”
Last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Napoli sent Juventus three points clear at the top of the league and stretched their unbeaten run to 47 championship matches.
But Alessio insists the players will continue to take one game at a time.
“The unbeaten streak is not something we think about. We just look to take to the field and win every game. Of course every team will aim to beat us, but we face every encounter with the maximum determination.”
A dominant display against Nordsjaelland proved in vain as the Danish champions held firm to deny the Bianconeri their first win in this season’s Champions League.
Reflecting on the 1-1 draw in Copenhagen, Alessio said: “We played well and the statistics show that. We had 18 corners, 30 shots and the goalkeeper made plenty of saves. We wanted to win, but we lacked that little slice of luck required to take all three points.”
With Stephan Lichtsteiner and Kwadwo Asamoah back training alongside their team-mates after missing the trip to Denmark, Juventus are expected to have a fully fit squad at their disposal for the trip to Sicily.
“All the players are in good shape and we’ll make our assessments at the end of today’s final training session. We’ve used the past few days to acclimatise the team to the lunchtime kick-off, eating and training earlier. We’re ready.”
Source: Juventus.com
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