Spalletti's pre-Juventus press conference in full

Sunday's game at the Stadio Olimpico gets underway at 20:45 CEST.

Juventus and Roma have both picked up 43 points since you met in the reverse fixture. What does that mean?

“It means both teams have played very well and gone full out, although we should remember that they were ahead of us by that point. If there'd been another team right on their heels, I think they'd have got even more points. There were times when the cushion they had offered them the opportunity of taking things a little easier. Sometimes it happens subconsciously that your motivation levels drop off a little.

"I expect it happened even to them, although they always play with the right character in every match. They repelled any attempt made by other sides to close in on them. They've picked up lots of points and done very well.”

Maurizio Sarri reckons the last few games should be played at the same time. What do you think?

“I think it would probably be fairer for the run-in, but perhaps it should have been done for the last game too. Last weekend was part of the run-in and important in the race for second place, wasn't it? He's right but it would have been right last week when we played in Milan after them.”

How are Radja Nainggolan and Diego Perotti doing?

“We need to have a very good look at both of them. We need to be sure they're capable of lasting the whole match, and the ones afterwards too. They're great players and we need them because players like that aren't easy to come by.

"Radja is the sort of player I'd always want to have available. And a fully fit Diego is the kind of player you need in games like this. The medical staff will keep working with them right up to the match.”

Is Antonio Conte's success with Chelsea in the Premier League a further demonstration of how good Italian coaches are?

“If people want to give us credit for it, by all means! But he's the one who won the title. He's the one who did well. He's the one who turned that team around and got them playing the football he wanted. He deserves the credit for winning the league and it's a feather in his cap.”

Have you decided who will come in for Dzeko tomorrow or which formation you'll use?

“It's a shame Edin isn't available because he's become our focal point up front. The team know what sort of balls to play to him to make the most of his movement and runs. He's established himself as Roma's striker. We'll lose something without him but we have other options we can turn to in order to win the game.

"We must have no excuses. We need to go into the game completely clear-headed and channel all our mental and physical strength into winning the game as it would give us the chance to finish second. We need to be focused on our objective and not let anything obscure our view.”

The whole of Italy has had its say on Francesco Totti not coming on at the San Siro, including [politician Matteo] Salvini. A week on from the game, do you have anything else to say about it?

“I've already discussed the match. I made my decision based on what could happen in the last five minutes, but even when I've brought him on for five minutes people still had the same opinion. As for Salvini, thank goodness he's against me. It would have been a problem if he'd been on my side.”

Apart from the difference between Juve and Roma in terms of revenue, where else do you think the two clubs differ?

“This year Juve have shown themselves to be exactly where they wanted to be at all times, with no hitches or delays. The set-up they have is at a very advanced stage and I can't really see any chink in their armour which would allow others to keep up with them. There have been times when Juventus have looked like they could do even better.

"There is a gap between the clubs at the moment but Roma have done very well too. Roma have worked well as a team and managed to move a bit closer to the level they're at but didn't succeed because of what Juve have done themselves and probably because the Roma coach is partly to blame too. Roma are a great team but we shouldn't have lost so many games.

"You have to keep building on the hard work you do, making difficult and at times painful choices if you want to keep moving forward and improving – but that alone doesn't mean you'll necessarily get to their level. We've produced some fantastic performances but at the moment Juve are a notch ahead regardless of their financial resources, which I don't feel is the most important thing anyway.”

Tomorrow's match is Roma v Juve but the Olimpico is already sold out for Roma v Genoa. Does that bother you?

“Why should it bother me? I'm happy about it considering the situation. There's a chance Totti might be able to provide his contribution to the team tomorrow. I'm happy we'll have so many fans at the stadium as that's something we haven't had much recently. When our players joined this club they knew how passionate the Roma fans are but they've rarely had the chance to see it.

"I've been fortunate enough to have seen it before. We've been able to experience it on few occasions this season and when we have we haven't always been able to perform at our best. I try to do what's best for Roma without taking anything away from Francesco. At the end of the season we can play a game: we take the dictionary and look up all the words that concern us: team, shirt, heart, coach, captain, footballers, objectives.

"We look at the definitions and then we assess what's been done well and what hasn't. I take everything into consideration but Roma comes before anything else.”

What do you think of Walter Sabatini joining Inter? Would you like to work with him again?

“Sabatini is an excellent sporting director with a lot of experience behind him and he's perfectly suited for a big club that wants to start challenging for trophies again. I'm not surprised they've taken him on.

"I've had differing opinions with Sabatini in the past but I've also agreed with him on many things. He's a fantastic director – I've said that many times before. I enjoyed working with him so if the chance were to arise again in the future, why not?”