Chiellini: ‘Spalletti the right person for Juventus, no Vlahovic doors closed’

Giorgio Chiellini insists Juventus ‘believe Luciano Spalletti is the right person’ to start a new era, while ‘nobody closed the door’ for an extended Dusan Vlahovic contract.

It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin at 20.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Napoli-Eintracht Frankfurt on the Liveblog.

The Bianconeri have had a chaotic eight days since Igor Tudor was sacked, as Massimo Brambilla stepped in as caretaker manager for the 3-1 Serie A victory against Udinese.

Spalletti then made his debut on Saturday in a 2-1 result away to Cremonese, with some tactical revolutions including Teun Koopmeiners in central defence.

“The coach is trying to bring his experience and vision of football, but also avoiding any drastic changes too early,” Chiellini told Sky Sport Italia.

“He is adapting to what the team did in recent months, trying to add something of his own too. It will be important to get a win today, so that we can go forward in the Champions League too. We do have all it takes to progress.”

There is no time to lose in the Champions League, as Juventus have only two points from the first three games, thanks to a 4-4 draw with Borussia Dortmund, 2-2 against Villarreal, and the 1-0 defeat away to Real Madrid.

Juventus have been through a surprising number of coaches in the last couple of seasons, so can Spalletti bring stability?

“That was the hope in the past too, to launch new eras and not brief spells,” confessed Chiellini.

“Luciano has the status to create an era at Juve and it is everyone’s intention for Juve to compete the way they always have done. The initial impact was good, we hope to continue together, and believe he is the right person for the job.”

Dusan Vlahovic leads the attack this evening, so will Juventus try again to discuss a contract extension beyond the end of this season?

“I have said since the start of the campaign that Dusan is focusing only on Juventus, he proves that day after day. At the right time, we will evaluate, and nobody has closed the door from either side.”