Allegri: "Great night of football on the way"

Massimiliano Allegri looks ahead to Sunday's Derby d'Italia meeting with Stefano Pioli's in-form Inter at Juventus Stadium.

A clash of quality

"Both Juventus and Inter have the potential to win the league; the latter have picked up 25 points from a possible 30 and as far as I can see will be right in the mix for the title next season, even if there is still all to play for this year."

"I have no doubt that tomorrow's game will live up to its billing. In Higuain and Icardi, we'll be seeing two of the world game's best strikers out on the field. Whoever the opposition, we need to approach every game with the same focus: we've got three games in seven days coming up and each of them are worth three points." 

Seizing the moment

"Football is all about how you react to the key moments, both in the middle of matches and throughout the season as a whole. Sometimes you need to stick to your guns, sometimes you need to make a change.

"It's not as if we are that much better now than we were before the New Year when we won 15 games out of 18. Perhaps in the first half of the campaign we were becoming a little too conservative and lazy, assuming that we could just turn up and win.

"Your commitment on the field needs to be at its maximum every week and every player needs to pull in the same direction and do their part in every department. If we do that, then we have a great chance of winning the Scudetto, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League." 

Team news

"Marchisio is fit to play; it is normal that two months after coming back from injury, he needed a bit of time to consolidate his fitness. Barzagli on the other hand hasn't trained today but may still be part of the squad.

"Dybala is playing himself into form and fitness. With such intense attention on him, he's had a strange year but that's to be expected for a player who has the quality to win the Ballon d'Or.

"We've got great strength in depth on the flanks, not least down the right where Lichtsteiner has been terrific of late. Stephan, like Dani Alves, will be a critical player for us in the remaining months of the season."

Merci Patrice

"I wish Patrice all the best in Marseille and would like to thank him for everything he gave to us. His character and experience both on and off the field were so important in helping our younger players to grow. It's natural that a player of his focus and determination is going to struggle not playing week in, week out."