Motta handed injury boost with Vlahovic available for Bologna clash

Dusan Vlahovic will be available for Juventus’ Serie A clash against Bologna on Saturday, said Thiago Motta, before facing his former employers for the first time.

Vlahovic has missed Juventus’ last three games in all competitions after picking up a muscle problem in his left thigh during November’s international break.

He is Juventus’ top scorer in Serie A this season with six goals, and he will be keen to add to that total against one of his favoured opponents in the Italian top-flight.

The Serbian has scored six goals against Bologna in 10 appearances for former club Fiorentina and Juventus, only scoring more against Cagliari (seven).

“Dusan will be in the group tomorrow. He has trained with the team this week,” Motta told a press conference on Friday.

“We are happy with his return, that he can do what he likes. It’s his job to go on the pitch and play football.

“Tomorrow there will be Dusan and there will also be (midfielder Vasilije) Adzic, and (defender Nicolo) Savona will also return, who was missing from the last match.”

Motta, however, will be without Gleison Bremer, Juan Cabal, Nico Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Arkadiusz Milik and Weston McKennie for Saturday’s encounter.

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The Juventus head coach is preparing to face former club Bologna for the first time since departing in June.

During his first full season in charge, Motta guided Bologna to a Champions League berth for the first time since 1964-65, while also achieving a new record points tally in Serie A (68) for the Rossoblu.

“Bologna are doing well and are a great team,” Motta said. “(But) we have to focus on what we have to do, and many other things that we should avoid.

“They play very vertically and press a lot. They will put a lot of intensity. In Bologna, I lived two wonderful years, both on a personal and sporting level,” he added.

Juventus, however, enter the weekend in sixth position, six points off leaders Napoli, after drawing four of their last six Serie A games.

Motta has drawn 10 of his first 19 games in charge of Juventus in all competitions (W8 L1), with only Cestmir Vycpalek in 1971 (12) taking charge of fewer games to reach that total since 1929-30.

They have also struggled at the top end of the pitch, scoring once in their last three games in all competitions, something Motta acknowledged needed to improve.

“We’re coming off a few games that we haven’t won,” Motta said. “In some we’ve had good performances, but we need to improve.

“We can’t just focus on one phase of the game to get the result we want. Our offensive phase is everyone’s responsibility, starting with our goalkeeper.

“The more we arrive with the right men up front, the more likely we are to score. At the same time, we need to defend and prevent our opponent from creating anything.”