Europa League: Juventus without Yildiz and Thuram at Celta; Spalletti backs Gatti
Juventus visit Celta Vigo in the Europa League at 21:00 CEST on Thursday with a long absentee list. Besides captain Locatelli, Kenan Yildiz and Khéphren Thuram are also missing.
Archive image · Photo: Estevoaei / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Juventus will be without several regulars for Thursday night's Europa League league-phase match at Celta Vigo (21:00 CEST). According to Football Italia, captain Manuel Locatelli, out until late March after meniscus surgery, is joined on the sidelines by Kenan Yildiz, Khéphren Thuram, Jeremie Boga, Ekhator and goalkeeper Kamil Grabara. Boga has returned to partial training but was not called up, while Zeki Celik has back pain, Gazzetta reported.
Coach Luciano Spalletti backed defender Federico Gatti at his pre-match news conference. "Gatti deserves to play," he said. The match is at the Estadio Abanca-Balaídos.
Juventus opened their campaign with a 5-0 win over NEC Nijmegen, while Celta lost their opener 1-0 to Omonia Nicosia.