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Venice coach Eusebio Di Francesco spoke at a press conference on the eve of the challenging match against Thiago Motta’s Juventus.

Eusebio Di Francesco, coach of Venice, held a press conference just over 24 hours before the tough away game in Turin against Juventus managed by Thiago Motta, who are motivated by their recent victory in the Champions League against Manchester City.

The match at the Juventus Stadium, valid for the 16th round of Serie A, is scheduled for Saturday, December 14 at 8:45 PM.

Venice fans (PHOTO BY SALVATORE FORNELLI)

Venice, Di Francesco’s words

How have you been preparing, any absentees?

“In terms of absentees, there are no changes, they remain the same. After the last training session, I will finalize the list, Haps was out with the flu, but more or less the same players will be called up as in the last week.”

Does the trust from the club make you feel stronger?

“It’s nice to receive recognition for the work, obviously we are not rewarded by the results. It’s a fact, but we continue to work seriously to try to develop the young players and the team by giving them an identity, and in this process, it is undeniable to have the support of the club.”

Juventus just crushed City.

“Even before City, we knew they were strong, a solid team, especially at home. Historically, that’s the case. It’s a tough match, but something positive could come out of it as well.”

How do you approach Juventus?

“They have a coach who favors possession, but with City, we saw that they won through direct attacks. Tomorrow’s game will potentially be different, we will have to be smart not to get pinned back.”

How can Candela help?

“We’ve made a lot of mistakes, not just him. It’s a team effort in this case. He just needs to understand that through working on his weaknesses, he will improve. We all make mistakes. I prefer individual errors to be limited, but if they happen, I prefer them to be team mistakes.”

How did you contain Juventus last year?

“That cursed goal by Rugani (laughs, editor’s note). They had dominance, but we were dangerous. We have good players in counterattacks, not many, but we are good at getting multiple men into the box, also to provide the right balls to Pohjanpalo. Looking back at last year, it was a real shame. Did I leave something behind? I hope to recover it.”

What can the Oristanio-Pohjanpalo duo do to improve their chemistry?

“They are doing something interesting, in the end, they should aim to convert more chances, not just in the last game which was a bit special where we lacked determination in front of goal without focusing on individual errors, but thinking that there will definitely be another opportunity to make amends.”

4 points between Juventus and Cagliari as a Christmas gift?

“I don’t like to talk about that. I think we need to focus on our attitude, on staying as focused as possible during the matches. It also happened with Como to concede a goal early in the second half even in a game affected by weather conditions.”

Is this Nicolussi Caviglia’s game?

“I haven’t asked him, but I’m working a lot with him on a technical, tactical, and leadership level, he can take this further step.”