Juve captain Chiellini ruled out of Lazio clash
Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini has been ruled out of Monday's (AEDT) Serie A encounter at Lazio because of a thigh injury.
The Italy centre-back did the damage in training on Sunday (AEDT) and will not feature at Stadio Olimpico.
Juve stated that Chiellini will be evaluated in the next few days, while midfielder Aaron Ramsey also misses out on the trip to the capital.
The midfielder sustained a thigh injury in the UEFA Champions League victory over Ferencvaros in midweek and has also pulled out of his national side's latest squad.
Lazio is unbeaten in five matches in all competitions and Pirlo is expecting an entertaining encounter in the Eternal City.
The Juve mentor said in an interview with the Italian champion's official website: "It is certainly going to be a great game, because Lazio-Juventus is an enjoyable match to play.
"It will also be difficult, as Lazio are a wonderful team and proved that in recent years, so it’s tough, but exciting.
"We imagined their classic 3-5-2 with a very tight defence. They are very good on the counter, especially with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, as well as their forwards.
"This is why we must be wary of making technical errors that can spark those counters."
Pirlo was impressed by the way the Bianconeri took Ferencvaros apart in a 4-1 win and wants to see the Turin giants dominate opponents on a regular basis.
He added: "We had some interesting pointers in terms of performance and how we develop the attacking play from the midfield.
"We occupied the attacking spaces well and that is positive, so while we still need to improve, we are on the right track playing a different football to what this team was accustomed to in the past.
"Goals from midfielders are important and we are working to get more of them pushing forward, like Adrien Rabiot and Weston McKennie.
“I always knew [Alvaro] Morata was a complete player and not just in his finishing, so what he's done in recent matches is not a surprise. He is always involved in the play and have always looked to him.
"What I would like to see is a team with more confidence and that is dominating the match. That could be a big step forward to take."
