Thiago Motta explains Juventus line-up decisions against Genoa | OneFootball

Thiago Motta insists Jonas Jakob Rouhi ‘deserves’ to start but admits that Juventus must improve against teams that defend deep.

The Bianconeri meet Genoa at Marassi in a game played behind closed doors on Saturday.

It kicks off at 18:00 CET (16:00 GMT) and you can follow the match as it happens on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Thiago Motta announced the Juventus XI on the eve of the game, announcing that Swedish left-back Rouhi would start for the first time in Serie A. The same is true of Danilo who features for the first time in Juventus’ XI under Motta.

“I trust him, as I trust all my players,” Motta told DAZN about Danilo.

“We have only strong players on the team, and they’ve all worked well this week. I am convinced the starters will put in an excellent performance.”

The Bianconeri haven’t yet conceded in Serie A, but collected three consecutive 0-0 draws.

“Criticism is fair, and we accept it. Clearly, we are a solid team for now, conceding just one goal in the Champions League,” said Motta.

“We play well in open games, creating so much in attack. We struggled more against teams that defended deep. That’s where we must improve.”

Thiago Motta explains Juventus line-up decisions against Genoa

Why did he give Rouhi a chance, leaving Andrea Cambiaso and Juan Cabal on the bench?

“Andrea and Juan have done well when they played, even if Juan is more a central defender,” explained Motta.

“Jonas is a young guy who worked with us in the pre-season. He has always trained with intensity and quality. I saw him well this week. He starts today because he deserves it and I am sure he’ll put in an excellent performance.”

Juventus have earned nine points in the opening five games of the season and a victory against Genoa today would send them to the top of the Serie A table, waiting for Torino‘s game against Lazio on Sunday.