Luciano Spalletti's pre-Juventus press conference in full

Read what the Giallorossi coach had to say in full below - as usual, the coach began by giving an update on the fitness of his group.

“The latest from the treatment room is as follows: [Alessandro] Florenzi, [Abdullahi] Nura and [Bogdan] Lobont are out. [Thomas] Vermaelen, [Leandro] Paredes and [Francesco] Totti will be assessed during training today.

"[Mohamed] Salah is in the squad and available for selection.”

Is this match just about [Gonzalo] Higuain and [Edin] Dzeko or will [Gianluigi] Buffon and [Wojciech] Szczesny be a factor too?

“I’ve seen much of the coverage has centred around them because we tend to focus on goalscorers. The other players also make us good teams and you’ve hit the nail on the head with your question. [Buffon] has great experience and physical and mental strength which he also regularly produces for the national team. Szczesny is a quality goalkeeper and a big prospect. Obviously he still has a long way to go in terms of experience. Buffon has always been top class but Szczesny is good too and he will become a superb goalkeeper.”

Last season you played Juventus 10 days after returning to the club. Are you pleased with the progress Roma have made since then and how different will tomorrow’s match be?

“I’m pleased. We’ve knuckled down and we keep a close eye on where we can improve on a daily basis. Roma have been on a good run of late, although clearly there have been ups and downs, but Juve have done well to keep the bar high for Italian football in general. They’ve always been a big force. It’s no coincidence they win the title with 100 points whereas a few years ago you only needed 80. They motivate the other teams to do better, get close to them and match them. We’re pleased with the job we’ve done, given that we’ve shaved a few points off their lead.”

How’s [Stephan] El Shaarawy?

“I think he’s shown over the last few training sessions that he’s done a great job to break in and maintain good fitness levels. You can’t argue with his technical ability. Every now and then I challenge him to be more consistent, physical and do the dirty work – all crucial aspects of teamwork. But it’s clear for all to see that he has great ability, flair and bags of skill.”

How much of a difference will [Paulo] Dybala make for Juve?

“It won’t change too much. They always have great physical power and technical ability – that’s a hallmark of their play. They always produce the best. If [Mario] Mandzukic and [Gonzalo] Higuain start, as I expect them to, it will become a real battle with physical match-ups all over the pitch. In their last game, for instance, they came through a tough situation against Torino by lumping it long to Higuain and Mandzukic. Dybala gives them greater pace but he also puts himself about.”

Would a draw be enough for Roma?

“That’s an easy one to answer. It’s a crucial game for us. We have to go out there and play. We’re a good team too and we must stand toe to toe with them and show what we’re about. I believe we have one aim: we want to make the reverse fixture into a massive game. If we manage to do that, we’ll have done our job. That’s crucial but the second meeting of the sides will be a decider.”

Do you expect Juve, as the home side looking to kill off the title race, to come and press you high?

“They have great belief in their ability and that runs right the way through the club. They will come at us, attack us very high up the pitch and try to build pressure on us through the crowd. They have other bigger goals so it’d be huge for them if they could win tomorrow’s match. [Massimiliano] Allegri has shown over the years what he’s looking to achieve with his team. We must show what we can do and we’ll have our say on proceedings too.”

Allegri has said that you’re a great coach and a terrific actor too.

“That’s because he’s never heard me sing! Here’s what I think of him: he’s a great friend and will remain as such. I think he’s an upstanding man and a great coach. It’s easy to say he has great players to work with and that it’s straightforward to win with them. That’s the not case, on the contrary: it’s very difficult to have so many excellent players. You have to manage them, get them all performing and keep them under control. He’s won trophies in a number of situations and he’s never caused problems with big squads like the one he has at the moment.

"That said, obviously it’s different when you can bring on [Miralem] Pjanic and Dybala as opposed to other players at the death. But his players come on and play as if they start every match. That shows the mood in the dressing room is good and that’s down to the coach. He’s in charge and everything he says goes. We’re great friends and that will still be the case regardless of the fact we’re on opposite sides. The same goes for Pjanic. He’s friends with everyone in our dressing room and that will continue to be the case.”

Is the referee [Daniele] Orsato enough or would you prefer in-game replays too?

“Orsato and his refereeing team will do us fine. He’s a safe pair of hands for everyone. As for technology, I believe it’s important but clearly it should be used in the right way. Football is a quick sport and decisions are made in real time. All the technology needs fine-tuning but either way I’m in favour of it.

“I don’t know what the other matches between these two teams were like. I’m sure they were great matches where often we had to chase the game because they’re better than us. But, as I said earlier, we want to get a greater insight into the numbers they’re producing, which are massive. We want to see what they do well and cut the deficit in the table.”

Is this last-chance saloon in the title race? Is it over if you lose?

“You never say it’s over. Our approach must be as follows: we always have to overcome whatever life throws at us. It’s a crucial game and it will be very tough albeit winnable. We still have to play in the Coppa Italia and Europa League, as well as against Inter and Fiorentina. We play every three days. Juventus will also have periods like this. That could be when things don’t run as smoothly for them as they are at the moment. That’s when we can make up points if we perform. We’ll have to go on a flawless run, whereas they have a little more leeway. That’s why we have to make the most of tomorrow night’s game.

“A result would create a buzz around the place and give people a spring in their step when coming to work. We want a bright future. We’ll approach the match in the right way and assess everything we need to. Pjanic joined us for a meal when we went to Turin. From time to time my players hand me the phone when he’s on the other end of the line. I’ve tried to have the kitman Maurizio Timperi take free-kicks but Pjanic strikes them better. I entrusted a lot of our attacking play to him last season. He’s nothing like the headlines in the papers make him out to be. He’s a lovely man in every sense of the word. He gave us a lot of options because he’s a real star. He’d still be at the heart of our play if he were here now. We think very highly of one another.”

Have you cracked the defence?

“If the match-up between Higuain and Dzeko is even and if we’ve improved at the back too, I’d say we have a good chance. We mustn’t let everyone know what we plan to do. We just have to go out there and show it tomorrow night.”