SERIE A
Juve to Rest Higuain Ahead of Barca Tie
Juventus are poised to give star striker Gonzalo Higuain a rest against Chievo with the upcoming Champions League tie against Barcelona in mind.
Massimiliano Allegri’s men host Chievo in Serie A on Saturday, three days before they welcome Barca to Turin for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Higuain scored twice to help Juve into the Coppa Italia final at his former club Napoli’s expense this week but is now set to get a break, with regular number 10 Paulo Dybala instead playing in a more advanced role in the likely absence of Mario Mandzukic (knee).
“Mario Mandzukic is unlikely to be in the squad. Higuain? Here is a good idea – maybe I could play Paulo Dybala at centre-forward,” Allegri said at his pre-match media conference.
“Dybala is fine. In fact, he needs to play – Paulo is an aerobic player, a player that runs 12 kilometres per game. The more he plays, the better he improves his condition.
“On Wednesday he played 70 minutes, so I would say he is in an acceptable condition but not an optimal one. So he needs to play and from there we will evaluate.”
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