Need to Know: Di Francesco's key comments ahead of Torino game

The Giallorossi kick off the latest round of Serie A matches at the Stadio Olimpico on Friday, with kick-off scheduled for 20:45 CET.

We've rounded up the key comments from the boss ahead of the clash - as he gave his thoughts on squad rotation, who will start in attack with Edin Dzeko suspended, and how the rest of his squad is looking ahead of the game...

On Davide Astori's funeral...

"I watched coverage of the funeral today and I must say that it was very poignant; I remember him as a clean and exemplary opponent. Condolences to everyone in his family. Davide's memory is very emotional."

On Patrik Schick...

"He is definitely starting, partly because Gregoire Defrel has a slight injury he needs to get over and won't be named in the squad. The only forward I have available is Patrik, so he'll play from the start. Physically he's fine and mentally he's made great progress. He's still got a little way to go, however.

"He plays for his teammates and sometimes he even makes more runs than I ask him to. He is very selfless. He's adapting to the team, the environment and his team-mates. He has got some great attributes, I assure you."

On rotating his squad...

"I'm focusing on Torino and not Shakhtar Donetsk. I'll make my decisions based on tomorrow above all. There are four days between Friday and Tuesday, so there's time to recover. Only those suited to the game against Torino will play.

"When we faced them in the Coppa Italia, I made a few too many changes and this put my players at a disadvantage. It was my responsibility and I rued that decision. There will be a few changes to the line-up but not to the same extent. We've got our last training session today, which is always very important for me, as I'll get some answers on the physical condition of my players.

"As for Daniele De Rossi, he's back available, even though he's very upset about Astori, someone he was very close with. Lorenzo Pellegrini has also recovered."

On the win over Napoli...

"That game was just the beginning. Recently we've lacked consistency, so I want another response in this respect tomorrow. I'm never satisfied, and against Napoli I was very angry that we conceded the second goal, so it's far from the case that I believe the team has got over this patch. We need to find consistency in our results and our performances. The attitude that we showed against Napoli could bring us great satisfaction going forward."

On the fitness of Jonathan Silva...

"He's definitely not ready to play from the start, but he's been training consistently. He's coming back from a long injury that prevented him from training with any regularity. The knee is a bit different and needs some time to adapt. Could he make a substitute's appearance? Maybe, but only if we've already wrapped up the result."