Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 6y

Juventus' Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain could return vs. Tottenham

Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain could be back for Juventus as they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie at Wembley next week.

Dybala played the final 15 minutes of the Coppa Italia semifinal win against Atalanta on Wednesday after a hamstring problem, and coach Massimiliano Allegri said he would "give added value to the team for the end of the season."

However, he said it remained to be seen whether Higuain would play in London.

"We've got to see how his ankle is," Allegri told RAI. "We've got a few players out, but fortunately those who are in good shape will ensure we get what we need."

After seeing a Miralem Pjanic penalty earn a 1-0 win on the night and a 2-0 aggregate victory over Atalanta to seal a fourth straight Coppa Italia final appearance, Allegri said he was focusing on the weekend clash against Lazio.

Juve are four points behind Serie A leaders Napoli in the title race after their league clash with Atalanta last weekend was postponed.

"The aim was to get to March still in all competitions, now we're into one final and now we've got to think of the league as we have an exciting game against Lazio in Rome on Saturday," Allegri said.

"We've got to aim to win there so we go to London in the best shape possible.

"It [Lazio] is our most important game at the moment. London comes after.

"People have spoken about the Spurs game since the home leg -- it's going to be an extraordinary game in a marvellous stadium and we get to show ourselves off to the world, but it shouldn't be an obsession because we're hitting all our targets at the moment."

Meanwhile, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini lamented the penalty decision that went against his side in the Coppa semifinal.

Gasperini felt the penalty should not have been given but praised his side's performance.

"We're convinced it wasn't a penalty," he told RAI.

"It's a pity -- Juve are a great team and it was going to be hard for us anyway, but we played a great game and then the penalty, which was wrong, finished us off.

"This takes nothing away from Juve's quality, and they had better chances than us.

"We have no regrets. We got to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia -- people will still say we've not won any trophy but we've got here to the semifinal and we also got through a Europa League group, so we should be proud.

"I've complimented all my lads and they must not get demoralised because we've got very close to this outstanding Juventus side."

Atalanta could qualify for Europe again next season because, if the Coppa Italia winners finish in the top six, seventh place would earn a spot in the Europa League qualifying rounds.

They are six points behind sixth-placed Sampdoria and seventh-placed AC Milan with a game in hand.

"We're still in the hunt," Gasperini said. "We have 13 games left and that's still a lot. It's a tough season -- we're up against Milan and Sampdoria and it's a great challenge, but we've only got the league to focus on now."

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