Juventus Boss Andre Pirlo confirms Paulo Dybala will start against Hellas Verona

Andre Pirlo has confirmed that Juventus ace Paulo Dybala will start the game against Hellas Verona on Sunday. The Old Lady are currently 7th in the Serie A table after 4 games, with 2 wins and 2 draws so far. Juventus stuttered to a 1-1 draw last weekend against Crotone, where Alvaro Morata scored the equalizer and Federico Chiesa saw a red card in the 60th minute.

That ruled the Italian out of this weekend’s game, and with Cristiano Ronaldo already sidelined after he tested positive for the Coronavirus, Juventus were concerned about their upcoming matches. The Portuguese captain tested positive for Covid-19 during international duty, and is currently in isolation.

Cristiano Ronaldo will be unavailable for Juventus against Hellas Verona, but Andrea Pirlo has confirmed Paulo Dybala will start on Sunday...https://t.co/QzugiXNbNA

— AS English (@English_AS) October 24, 2020

Juventus, though, responded in midweek with a 2-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the UEFA Champions League, a game where Dybala came off the bench in the 56th minute. It was the Argentinean’s first appearance of the season after he recovered from a thigh injury picked up at the end of last season. Now, Pirlo has confirmed that the Argentinean is set to return to the starting eleven.

Pirlo reveals Matthijs de Ligt is nearing a return to training with the Juventus squad

Dybala will get his first start of the season on Sunday

Speaking ahead of the game, the Juventus manager revealed team news and even spoke about Cristiano Ronaldo and Alex Sandro’s status of recovery from Covid-19. He said:

"We had time to rest after the trip to Dynamo Kiev, so apart from Giorgio Chiellini, everyone else is available. As of last night, I had no news on Cristiano Ronaldo’s COVID status. We all had swabs this morning, including Ronaldo at home. Alex Sandro is on his way towards a full recovery, but I think it’ll be after the break for international duty."

Pirlo then went on to confirm that Dybala will make his first start for Juventus this season on Sunday. He spoke at length about the Argentinean, revealing that Dybala was unlucky not to appear sooner for the Old Lady this term.

"I can confirm Dybala will start tomorrow. He had the right progress in training and it’s only fair now that he starts the match. I always said it was an issue of time, as he had the injury, then a virus on international duty. The two times he was on the bench without coming on, it was because we’d gone down to 10 men. He played in Kiev as a substitute, it’s only right that he starts tomorrow," he said.

Paulo Dybala will start against Verona on Saturday. It will be his first start under Pirlo this season. @SkySport pic.twitter.com/SZ9PzdHZHQ

— Forza Juventus (@ForzaJuveEN) October 23, 2020

Pirlo went on to praise new signing Morata, who has hit the ground running since joining Juventus from Atletico Madrid in the summer.

"This is why we signed him. We knew he was a great player who provided us with different tactical options, he knows Dybala well and I think they can happily coexist in the same line-up," he said.

The Juventus manager also revealed that Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt is close to a return to training.

"Matthijs de Ligt is waiting for the all-clear from the doctors, he can train with us, albeit avoiding physical contact after his shoulder operation," he said.

Juventus fans will be hoping that the Argentinean’s return to the first eleven will inspire the Old Lady to get back to winning ways in Serie A.