Thiago Motta: ‘Vlahovic knows what to do’ in RB Leipzig-Juventus

Thiago Motta explains what he wants to see from Dusan Vlahovic as Juventus visit RB Leipzig in the Champions League this evening. ‘I am very happy.’

It kicks off at the Red Bull Arena at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game, Shakhtar Donetsk-Atalanta and Liverpool-Bologna on the Liveblog.

While the front four remain the same for several games in a row, including Nico Gonzalez, Kenan Yildiz and Teun Koopmeiners, the coach does tend to change his midfield and defence.

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

“In a game like this evening’s where there is going to be a lot of intensity, we need the players to come off the bench and give an important contribution in the second half too.”

Thiago Motta expects a lot from Vlahovic

Vlahovic broke his goal drought with a brace at the weekend, so what does the coach want to see from the Serbia international?

“He is in good shape and from the first day has worked with a real positive spirit. There are moments when criticism arrives, but I am very happy because he gives so much in attack and in defence.

“Vlahovic knows what he has to do, both when we have the ball and when we are out of possession, so that is what he needs to do tonight as well,” concluded Thiago Motta.

There are few real alternatives to Vlahovic upfront, because today it was announced that Arkadiusz Milik has undergone knee surgery to clean up the meniscus injury that already forced him to miss EURO 2024 over the summer.

Meanwhile, Pierre Kalulu is used in central defence rather than Federico Gatti, with youth product Nicolò Savona preferred to Danilo at right-back.