LILLE, France (Reuters) – Juventus manager Thiago Motta has stressed the importance of his team playing at their limits away to a confident Lille side in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Juve face a tough task against a side who have already upset Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
“All matches are important. We, as Juventus, always want to win. The most important thing is always trying to improve,” Motta told a press conference on Monday.
“Lille are very confident, and we want to face them in optimal condition. We aim to give more than our maximum.”
Motta will have midfielder Douglas Luiz back after a lengthy injury break but will still be without some players.
“He’s (Luiz) one more player who can help the team. … we’ll only be missing Arek (Arkadiusz Milik), Gleison (Bremer) and Nico (Nicolas Gonzalez).”
Both sides are in the playoff section of the 36-team table with six points from three games, with Juve 14th and Lille 15th before they clash at Stade Pierre Mauroy.
“There are no favourites in a match,” added Motta. “It’s a beautiful game, in a beautiful stadium, and we hope the pitch will be in good condition tomorrow. We can only talk tomorrow about who played better.”
Lille manager Bruno Genes said the game will be challenging despite his side’s shock wins over higher-rated teams.
“Every Champions League match is different, but there is one essential parameter to get a result – commitment,” he told a press conference.
“Like all Italian teams, Juventus are very well organised, very difficult to play against. Having already achieved two big results in this competition, we are going to give it our all again and we have our fans who will give us strength.”
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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