Juventus head coach Igor Tudor heaped praise on his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola ahead of Thursday’s encounter.
The two clubs have already qualified for the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup, but they will meet in Orlando to decide who will finish at the top of Group G. The Old Lady only needs a draw to maintain first place.
Ahead of the contest, Tudor insisted that his team will be determined to win, while hinting at making changes to the lineup that started the first two contests against Al Ain and Wydad.
“We worked on all aspects to reach this match in the best possible way,” said the Croatian in his pre-match press conference as published on the official Juventus website.
“We evaluated who to play, given that we played two demanding matches and it is important to understand who can play for the whole match and who can come in to give their best. Tomorrow we will definitely change something, but we want to play a serious game and win, fielding players who can help us achieve this goal.
“We want to win, you cannot play for a draw. Tomorrow we take to the field to win, you do not prepare matches to draw.
Igor Tudor lauds Pep Guardiola
(Photo by Chris Ricco/Getty Images)
Tudor also expressed his great esteem for Guardiola whom he considers the greatest manager in the world.
“Those who will not play from the start are disappointed, because everyone wants to play these games.
“Manchester City is a team that has dominated for years, led by the best coach in the world. It will be a game in which we give everything, we will play our football, they will play theirs and we will see what the final result will be.”
Francisco Conceicao has a calf problem
Finally, the Juventus boss revealed that Francisco Conceicao could be dropped due to a calf issue, while tips some of his recently returning players to take the field as starters
