Thiago Motta: “Vlahovic knows what to do” at RB Leipzig-Juventus

Thiago Motta explains what he expects from Dusan Vlahovic when Juventus visit RB Leipzig in the Champions League this evening. “I am very happy.”

It starts at 8pm UK time (7pm GMT) at the Red Bull Arena.

You can follow all the build-up and action of this game, Shakhtar Donetsk-Atalanta and Liverpool-Bologna in the live blog.

While the front four remains the same for several games in a row, including Nico Gonzalez, Kenan Yildiz and Teun Koopmeiners, the coach tends to change up his midfield and defense.

“Everyone can take part, we have a lot of high-level players and it depends on the moment of the game, what we want to do and the opponent,” Thiago Motta told Amazon Prime Video Italia.

“In a game like tonight, where it’s very intense, we need the players who come off the bench and make an important contribution in the second half.”

Thiago Motta expects a lot from Vlahovic

Vlahovic ended his goal drought with a brace at the weekend. So what does the coach expect from the Serbian international?

“He is in good form and has worked with a really positive attitude from day one. There are moments when there is criticism, but I am very happy because he gives so much in attack and defense.

“Vlahovic knows what he has to do, both when we have the ball and when we don't, so he has to do that tonight too,” concluded Thiago Motta.

There are few real alternatives to Vlahovic ahead of time, as it was announced today that Arkadiusz Milik has undergone knee surgery to repair the meniscus injury that has already forced him to miss EURO 2024 in the summer.

Pierre Kalulu is now deployed in central defense instead of Federico Gatti, with young player Nicolò Savona preferred to Danilo as a right-back.