Thiago Motta confirms two Juventus starters against Aston Villa despite illness | OneFootball

Thiago Motta has confirmed that Andrea Cambiaso will start against Aston Villa in the Champions League, as will Teun Koopmeiners despite suffering from flu, but the Bianconeri tactician was not willing to give away any other clues as to his starting line-up.

Motta was speaking at his pre-match press conference in the UK ahead of Juventus’s upcoming Champions League clash away against Aston Villa on Wednesday night.

Motta confirms two Juventus starters against Aston Villa

Cambiaso also took part in the pre-match media duties, and Motta confirmed that that means he will play as well. The coach also revealed that Koopmeiners is down with a bout of flu, but claimed that he is ‘great’ even with illness, and will also play against Villa on Wednesday night.

“He’s great, even with the flu. He will definitely play tomorrow. That’s a definite starter for you, along with Cambiaso,” Motta said when asked about Koopmeiners’s condition.

MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 23: Teun Koopmeiners of Juventus is challenged by Youssouf Fofana of AC Milan during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Juventus at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on November 23, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Juventus have taken a bare-boned squad with them to the Midlands. Only 17 players have been called up, including three goalkeepers, which means Motta only has 14 outfield players at his disposal.

There will be no Dusan Vlahovic, Juve’s leading goalscorer, nor former Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, or Nico Gonzalez, Weston McKennie, Bremer, Juan Cabal, Arkadiusz Milik or Vasilije Adzic.