Palermo boss Giuseppe Iachini is adamant that his team must not let Juventus take control of the game in the meeting between the two sides on Sunday.
The Rosanero will be facing off with the Serie A leaders in Turin and the 50-year-old expects the hosts to have a great advantage at home despite their disappointing results in their past two games against Sassuolo and Olympiacos, though he admits that his squad have been improving in their defence as of late and feels they could have their way in the match with some luck.
Iachini spoke during his pre-match press conference on Saturday about what Palermo will need to do in order to have a positive game with Juventus and commented on which players he may use, while also praising Juve for their strong qualities on the pitch.
“Juve are Juve, they’ve had two good games against Olympiacos and Sassuolo where they held most of the possession,” said the tactician.
“They created so many chances and had attacking opportunities, but were unable to fully deliver in the end. In the second half against Sassuolo, Andrea Consigli made seven or eight important saves that were decisive for the result.
“Juventus have dominated this league for three and a half years. Their fans in their home stadium will be a 12th man, it will have an impact on their structure.
“There will be a lot of personality and organisation being displayed in Turin, it will be the perfect game.
“We must not play a passive game, we will have to go and play our game as we would against anyone else, head on. We must create opportunities and not stand there and let Juventus impose their game on us.
“Juve inch forward, they have great physicality, technique and tenacity.
“Stephan Lichtsteiner is their most dangerous man, he attacks and has incredible strength. He’s an important player, he isn’t talked about as much but is an important man and the most dangerous on that team.
“Carlos Tevez is also a formidable player, he’s extraordinary. Juve have so many other players like this, we will have to move well defensively in order to close down every space.
“Where will I use Zouhair Feddal? I’ll see before the game. He has the qualities to play either centrally or externally. At Siena he played on the outside, so he can be useful.
“In the past few games we have shown improvements in defence, you must have personality and we have to play our game, plus we need a little luck at this time, as there hasn’t been much for us.
“In defence we must be fully focused and attentive to every little detail while remaining careful, because one mistake can result in an opportunity for the opponent to score.
“I have recommended that the team not play a passive game, as it would be respectful to Juventus.
“Eros Pisano will be useful and will be monitored, there is a lot of physical work in his role and we will make sure he will be available to be useful to us. I’m not too worried about physical problems.
“We must exploit the spaces from behind, we will need to be unpredictable and find the right times to strike, we should even be good in the dead-ball situations, in particular it’s thinned out.
“Ivaylo Chochev? He played from the inside often in Bulgaria. I’ve personally seen what he can do, he’s fit. I’m surprised that he doesn’t have more goals with the Bulgaria Under-21 team.
“I don’t think I can play him in front of defence at this time due to his measured pace, as he may be fatigued. However, he’ll earn the role of director on the pitch over time.
“In the match itself there can be multiple games, it’s important to work with everyone available in the squad as I have been doing these days. We must always keep an intense pace in order to keep Juve at bay, especially in the second half.
“Francesco Della Rocca is improving, today he played with the Primavera, we are getting him into a condition where he can play with us and be useful again.
“Against Juve I have not yet decided if I will use Paulo Dybala and Franco Vazquez or Dybala, Vazquez and Andrea Belotti.”
