Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri and defender Matthijs De Ligt spoke to the press ahead of their UEFA Champions League match against Chelsea – and they both spoke of how dangerous Romelu Lukaku was. The big Belgian has only just returned to training and is not certain to feature as the Blues aim to close the gap on the Italian side.In two seasons season with Inter, Lukaku has never scored against the black and whites, but his quality is enough to make Allegri look nervously at whether he’ll start for the London team tonight.”Lukaku is a point of reference; without him, Chelsea play with more speed. His presence changes the way the opposition defends.”Xavi’s Champions League debut is what this night is all aboutThe reigning champions of Europe are second in the Group H table, but are still looking almost certain to finish in one of the top two spots and qualify for the knockout stage. Their head coach Thomas Tuchel won’t rush his top striker back unless he’s fully fit.”We will not risk our qualification and go all in if the situation is like this, but we will try everything to win the game and the group and to do this, we have to win the game. Lukaku seemed OK in training on Sunday, we will see about the reaction. He has an appointment with the doctors and physios.”Tuchel will also have to assess the condition of Kai Havertz, who is a doubt with a hamstring problem. Fellow Germany striker Timo Werner, who has been out with a hamstring injury since October, could feature while midfielder Jorginho is fit despite being replaced in the second half against Leicester City on Saturday.Lukaku is fully focused for Juventus pic.twitter.com/XzQIdtxxFf— Kelv (@phabio_1) November 22, 2021 Dutch defender Matthijs De Ligt will be tasked with marking Lukaku – or any other Chelsea forward. The former Ajax captain urged his teammates to keep focused from the first until the final whistle.”Playing at Stamford Bridge is a great thrill. Tomorrow we have to be compact, Chelsea are a strong team on the counterattack. It will be a tough match, but we will remain calm on the pitch. Lukaku is a great player, who makes the difference; but Chelsea, even without him, remains one of the strongest teams in Europe. The first leg match was good, for me and for the group – we played with maturity and passion.”First days in new jobs don’t come much harder than Carrick’s! It’s Villareal away in the Champions League!Former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey, Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini and forward Federico Bernardeschi are all out for Juventus while top scorer Paulo Dybala is a doubt.Federico Chesa’s second-half strike was the difference when these two teams met in the reverse fixture in September. UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUEGroup stageTuesday20.45: (8.00) Dynamo Kyiv (5.30) Bayern (1.40)20.45: (2.80) Villareal (3.25) Man.Utd. (2.75)23.00: (1.75) Barcelona (3.70) Benfica (5.40)23.00: (4.60) Young Boys (3.80) Atalanta (1.83)23.00: (2.65) Lille (3.25) Salzburg (2.90)23.00: (1.70) Sevilla (3.80) Wolfsburg (5.70)23.00: (1.65) Chelsea (3.80) Juventus (6.25)23.00: (4.40) Malmo (3.60) Zenit (1.92)Wednesday20.45: (7.75) Besiktas (4.80) Ajax (1.45)20.45: (1.33) Inter (5.70) Shakhtar (10.0)23.00: (3.50) Club Brugge (3.60) RB Leipzig (2.15)23.00: (1.65) Man.City (4.10) PSG (5.60)23.00: (1.70) Atl.Madrid (3.80) Milan (5.70)23.00: (1.95) Liverpool (3.60) Porto (4.20)23.00: (2.85) Sporting (3.40) Dortmund (2.60)23.00: (12.0) Sheriff Tiraspol (7.00) Real Madrid (1.25)***odds are subject to change
