Spalletti: ‘David is unfortunately not confident enough yet’ at Juventus

Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti explains his surprising choices against Lecce this evening, warning Jonathan David ‘isn’t confident enough to show all his quality’ right now.

It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin at 17.00 GMT (18.00 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s Serie A games on the Liveblog.

The Bianconeri called 2025 to a close with a positive run of results under coach Spalletti, earning seven wins in their last eight competitive games, interrupted only by defeat to Napoli.

“Juventus must have respect for our opponents, for our fans, for our history, so that means we focus on ourselves and not changing our approach based on who we are facing,” Spalletti told DAZN Italia.

“Lecce deserve to be here playing in this atmosphere because they worked the right way.”

Francisco Conceicao has shaken off a knock and is in the starting XI with Kenan Yildiz and Jonathan David.

Dusan Vlahovic, Federico Gatti, Daniele Rugani and Arek Milik are out of action, but Lois Openda and surprisingly Teun Koopmeiners are dropped to the bench.

“The difference is made in the details. When you go man for man, it’s difficult, it sparks even more determination in those teams who play against Juventus. Having talent like Yildiz and Conceicao allows us to break through the low block, they have that instinct and can find spaces that others cannot see,” added Spalletti.

“David is in good shape, he is a top professional who is able to get into the move no matter what area of the pitch he is in. It’s disappointing he isn’t at the moment confident enough to show all his quality, but he can be a top finisher in the box. He has what it takes to be an incredible marksman.”

There were changes behind the scenes at Juve this week, with the arrival of new director of sport Marco Ottolini.