Juventus are set to welcome Benevento at the Allianz stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The southerners were among the clubs who were able to derail the Old Lady’s train during the earlier part of the season, as the first meeting between the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw.
On Saturday afternoon, Andrea Pirlo held his customary pre-match press conference, discussing various topics related to the team.
“It’s an important game and comes just before a break for international duty, so it’s possible that minds will wander towards what’s happening next week,” said the coach as translated by Football Italia.
“However, this is a fundamental match for our campaign, as we are up against a team who’s in a good period of form. I know their coach well and he’ll come here trying to get a result.”
Pirlo’s counterpart on the Benevento bench will be none other than his former teammate Filippo Inzaghi.
The pair had won several trophies whilst playing side by side at Milan, including two Champions League titles.
Moreover, the two friends were also a part of Italy’s World Cup winning squad in 2006.
“I haven’t spoken to Pippo lately, but I always follow his progress with affection. He did so well to win the Serie B title last year and is proving himself to be an excellent coach.
“Gigi Buffon is feeling better, he trained and we’ll see if he will play tomorrow. We are all waiting for Dybala, who will have a week or two more to work in time for his return,” reassured the 41-year-old.
“Alvaro Morata is fine and will start, as will Dejan Kulusevski. I was impressed with the tactical approach we took against Cagliari, but I had no doubts that it would. When everyone sacrifices themselves in both defense and attack, it all becomes easier.
“I want to see our overall play improve. We’ll have more time to work in training now, to whittle down certain mechanisms that simply take time to develop. We’ll concentrate on organizing the play, as we have the squad to improve our quality of football.”
Pirlo also spoke about the league leaders Inter, who will take the weekend off due to a Covid-19 outbreak within their squad.
“It is our duty to put pressure on Inter, as we have the opportunity to close the gap, but it all depends on us. We asked for information and accepted it. Different things have been done in this case compared to other situations.
“It happens during a positive moment for Inter, who will also be able to keep hold of their players rather than send them on international duty. In that sense, they were fortunate.”
Juventus currently sit third in the Serie A table, with 10 points away from Inter, and just one behind Milan, whilst also having a postponed match in hand against Napoli.
