Motta pushes Juventus to find elusive win

The Turin outfit has injury woes ahead of the Sunday clash against Monza

BENGALURU:

Juventus have slipped to sixth in Serie A after four straight draws and coach Thiago Motta is hoping for a return to winning ways at 19th-placed Monza on Sunday, but injury woes continue to haunt his side with several key players set to miss the clash.

Defender Andrea Cambiaso, who suffered an ankle injury earlier this month, is being assessed for a potential return, but midfielder Douglas Luiz, who has dealt with multiple injuries since October, may not be available, Motta told reporters on Saturday. "Today we'll assess Cambiaso's condition.

On the other hand I might bring Douglas Luiz, but since I want everyone to be 100% I prefer to postpone his return to the squad," the coach said. Juventus are also without Gleison Bremer, Juan Cabal, Arkadiusz Milik, Jonas Rouhi and Timothy Weah due to injuries. "I hope to always see something good, both in the path of growth and in everything we do. Tomorrow against Monza we face a good team, with a good coach, and as always we must try to play a great game," Motta said.

While Monza are without a win in eight league games, they held Torino in November and made Udinese sweat to get a 2-1 win earlier this month. "If we encounter a compact Monza team, we must be able to attack effectively," Motta added.

Fonseca lauds Milan character

AC Milan manager Paulo Fonseca acknowledged the challenges posed by missing players and recent form but expressed satisfaction with his team's hard-earned Serie A win at Hellas Verona on Friday.

A goal from Tijjani Reijnders in the second half secured a 1-0 win for Milan in a low-key clash. Milan had secured just one win from their last five league matches with eight players sidelined due to injury, including forwards Alvaro Morata and Christian Pulisic.

"The first half was somewhat inevitable with so many players missing and not winning the most recent match, so we were sluggish," Fonseca told DAZN. REUTERS