Spalletti: ‘Juventus and Como on same level, sacrifice creativity for solidity’
Luciano Spalletti explains his Juventus tactical changes against Como with praise for Cesc Fabregas. ‘They are on the same level as us, we must sacrifice some creativity for solidity.’
It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium at 14.00 GMT (15.00 CET).
The Bianconeri are coming off painful back-to-back defeats to Inter in Serie A and Galatasaray in the Champions League play-off.
Spalletti dealing with Juventus crisis
“We are up against a team on the same level as us, partly because they have players of great potential, but also the quality of Cesc, who is a very capable coach reflecting what he was as a player in his vision of football,” Spalletti told DAZN Italia.
“We have some difficulties to deal with, as many teams do, so we are trying to put everything together and create as little imbalance as possible.
“We expect Como to play 4-2-3-1, but we have to play with three centre-backs and make these long runs towards their full-backs.”
Both those losses were affected by red cards, which is why Pierre Kalulu is suspended this afternoon, despite an appeal to have his second yellow card rescinded for the Alessandro Bastoni simulation.
Gleison Bremer, Emil Holm, Dusan Vlahovic and Arek Milik are also injured, with Jonathan David not fully fit.
“Often, you in the media comment on the results of games, but when matches are so evenly balanced, they can turn on a single incident that goes your way or not,” continued Spalletti.
“At this moment, we mustn’t add to the level of turbulence, because Como would inevitably have less pressure on them than us in that context. Considering recent results, and where we want to go, clearly we need to play above all with substance today.
“So we must sacrifice some creativity in order to give ourselves greater solidity, so that if incidents do go against us, we are better prepared.”
It means Lois Openda gets his first Serie A start of 2026, and looks like a three-man defence.
“Como are the most aggressive and high pressing team in the league, so every now and then we will have to turn it around quickly, and Openda has the characteristics for that. David is also not fully fit and he would run the risk of not even lasting to half-time.”