Squad named for Empoli game
No surprises in the list of players unavailable for Wednesday night's Juventus vs. Empoli match: Chiellini, Legrottaglie, Nocerino and Nedved will all miss the game through suspension, whilst Boumsong and Andrade are injured. The former is still training separately, whereas the latter has restarted physiotherapy and is currently doing work in the swimming pool. Zdenek Grygera is in the squad despite being hit in the face and breaking a bone in his nose at Napoli, as the injury isn't serious and will not need surgical attention; however, he will need to wear protection when training or playing.
Manager Ranieri selected the following 18 players:
1 Buffon
2 Birindelli
4 Almiron
5 Zebina
6 Zanetti
7 Salihamidzic
8 Camoranesi
9 Iaquinta
10 Del Piero
12 Belardi
17 Trezeguet
19 Criscito
20 Palladino
21 Grygera
24 Olivera
28 Molinaro
30 Tiago
32 Marchionni
Ranieri: “Only thinking about Empoli”
There's no time to mull over the Napoli match any more. As luck would have it, the calendar immediately offers a chance to play again. The second round this season to be played midweek comes at a special moment for Juventus. On the eve of their 110th birthday, the 1st of November, but most of all a few days before Sunday's super match against Inter Milan.
The Olimpico will welcome Empoli with their young players grown up at Juventus (Piccolo, Marchisio, Giovinco and Volpato), while the hosts will have to face the game without several key players. Nedved is still suspended alongside Chiellini, Legrottaglie and Nocerino, paying for what happened at the San Paolo. “I don't want to think about it any more – Ranieri commented at today's press conference -, a football team must snap out of these things at once and think only about the next match. Having seen the footage, there's not much to add, and yellow cards are part of the game. I have a good squad; the group is tight and close. Whoever will play will do well”.
The Manager is willing to bet on a ready response from his team and, more importantly, on the fact that the next match against Inter Milan won't be a distraction: “I said it before the Napoli game too, each match is worth three points, regardless of who the opponents are; we'll think about the Nerazzurri afterwards. We must concentrate on this match against Empoli first, and it'll be a tough one, but we have to win. We face a team that can adapt according to their opponents' style of play, good at slowing the game-play down and then at going forward suddenly and quickly. Recently they played a superb match against AC Milan and they didn't deserve to lose Sunday against Atalanta”.
juventus.com
Buy on AliExpress.com
Sali has been disappointing so far...
