The booking picked up by Giorgio Chiellini at the Via del Mare will see the defender sit out this weekend’s encounter through suspension. While confirming Paolo De Ceglie will step in at left-back, the manager emphasised that there are other potential defensive options.
“It’s inevitable that I’ll work on alternatives,” he commented. “Estigarribia has less defensive abilities than Paolo, but is more capable going forward. During the game, when we come up against teams who put men behind the ball, we could experiment with new solutions to look to stretch opposition defences even more - I’d use Marcelo for this.”
Conte concluded by commenting on the fitness of new signing Marco Borriello. “It’s the first week that Marco’s been training with us. He needs to work because his physical condition is not up to the level of the others, and he requires time to achieve this. I still haven’t decided whether to include him in the squad for tomorrow’s game.”