Juventus vs Napoli preview - Carrera sweating on Buffon
Posted Saturday, October 20, 2012 by PA
Juventus coach Massimo Carrera says goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is touch and go as to whether he will be fit to face Napoli in their top of the table clash.
Both sides have 19 points with six wins and a draw from their seven Serie A matches and Carrera is unsure whether his number one will recover from a thigh injury in time for the match at the Juventus Stadium.
"We will have to evaluate Gigi's condition after our final training session," he said. "It will be up to him to tell us whether he can play or not.
"Many clubs have players who have come back from international duty with knocks, but Juve are not a club who go around crying."
Carrera has guided Juventus to an unbeaten start to the Serie A season but assistant manager Angelo Alessio will take charge in the absence of manager Antonio Conte for the next few months.
Conte's suspension for his part in a match-fixing scandal has been shortened to six months, allowing him to return in December, while Alessio, who was also banned, is now free to work again after a successful appeal.
That means Carrera, who has been in charge since Juventus defeated Napoli in the Supercoppa, goes back to being a regular part of the backroom staff.
"Alessio will be back because there is a hierarchy to be respected," said Carrera, whose record in charge of the Bianconeri makes for positive reading with eight wins and two draws.
"Angelo is Conte's first assistant, I am just a technical assistant. I know what my role is.
"I took his place, but now I go back to doing my job with maximum respect. I am happy to be part of Antonio's backroom staff."
Napoli's preparations for the game have been complicated by the late return of Edinson Cavani from international duty.
Due to a delayed flight from South America, he missed a connection and only set foot back on Italian soil this morning.
"I don't care at all about the delay, I base my decisions on the players I have got and our opponents and I will try to pick the best team I can to face Juve," said Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri.
"I saw Cavani today and he looked well. I will evaluate them all and choose the right team then."
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