Juventus vs Pescara preview - Conte keen to end week on a high

Posted Saturday, April 06, 2013 by PA

Juventus head coach Antonio Conte wants to see his players "foaming at the mouth" against Pescara as the Serie A leaders look to end a disappointing week on a high.

The Bianconeri now face an uphill battle to reach the last four of the Champions League after Bayern Munich claimed a 2-0 victory in the first leg of this month's quarter-final tie.

Conte will not stand for any dejection or complacency in his squad at the Juventus Stadium, though, with bottom side Pescara both fighting for their lives and desperate to avenge November's 6-1 defeat.

He told juventus.com: "I want them foaming at the mouth.

"Getting three points is essential if we are going to achieve a realistic goal.

"The league title is that goal and other targets are perhaps just dreams, and dreams rarely come true.

"Success is not guaranteed. They're still fighting for their lives and will have worked hard during the week.

"We are wise to potential banana skins. As a player I won championships that had seemed lost and lost titles that I thought we'd won.

"To retain the Scudetto would be marvellous, however, and so we remain focused. Winning would be another brick on the road to winning the league."

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who had an indifferent night in Munich, will be rested as he struggles to recover from a bout of flu, with Conte confirming Marco Storari as his deputy.

Defenders Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini are suspended, but midfielders Luca Marrone and Kwadwo Asamoah will start alongside Claudio Marchisio, who was reported to have contracted tonsillitis this week.

"Usually the doctors would tell me about something like that, but nobody has told me anything," Conte added. "I think the rumours of tonsillitis have been invented. Marchisio is alive and well."

Pescara midfielder Mervan Celik is suspended with Vladimir Weiss, Ante Vukusic, Uros Cosic and Antonio Balzano all struggling for fitness ahead of the trip to Turin.

The Delfini are unlikely to erode the six-point gap on 17th place against the leaders, but head coach Cristian Bucchi is urging a dignified and gritty display nevertheless.

He said: "It is not true that we have nothing to lose, we are bottom of the table but we always have our dignity to defend.

"We are not in great shape but I have told my players to give their all. I want to see people who want to sacrifice themselves because Serie A demands you always give your very best.

"It is impossible not to get excited about playing Juventus and the players should all want to show off. But we're going up against a strong team who deserve to be where they are.

"We're not going to Turin to be beaten, though. We have to try and play the perfect game, knowing that Juve will do everything they can to stop us."