Juventus are first in the group ahead of the match with Valencia on Tuesday in the Champions League. With the knockout rounds on the horizon, the bianconeri will look to secure first in their group after the disappointing loss to Manchester United in the prior match. The coach of Juve, Massimiliano Allegri, spoke during his pre-match press conference about his side: "CR7 is doing great things both as a striker and assistman. He has a level of quality that allows us to raise our game. Last year I said that the favorites were Real Madrid, this year I think it's Barcelona. Barcelona are the favourites to win the competition in my opinion. Then there are three teams including us with the ambition to win it, and we have that same desire every year. We must respect Valencia. They are a solid team that have only lost one in their last 10 and will be aiming to qualify. Tomorrow is a game that we must win. I expect Dybala will play well, like the rest of the team will. Cuadrado is learning how to play box-to-box and Bentancur is doing very well also and can also play sitting in front of the defense. I expect the formation to be 4-3-the whole situation up top. Matuidi and Chiellini will be back in the team, they are both in good condition physically and mentally. Rugani played a good game on Saturday and also playing for the national team. I'm happy with how he's doing, he's one of the best defenders and not only in Italy. Neto was an important player here. I'm happy with how he did in his two years at Juventus. Vialli? I wish him all the very best. He has shown to be a fighter both on and off the pitch. In these "matches" it takes a lot of character in order to beat the opponent but I'm sure that Luca will do it."
"We've improved our game a lot on set-pieces, both offensively and defensively." "Tomorrow will be a difficult game. Valencia have the opportunity to qualify and will be in a different mental state than the first game.""There are still many games to go in Serie A and we have a lot of difficult games to play until the end of the year. In the Champions League we have to take it one step at a time. We want to qualify for the Last 16 & in first place."
