Thiago Motta insists Jonas Jakob Rouhi “deserves” to be in the starting XI but admits Juventus need to improve against teams that defend deep.

The Bianconeri face Genoa in Marassi on Saturday, a game behind closed doors.

Kick-off takes place at 18:00 CET (16:00 GMT) and you can follow the game on the Football Italia live blog.

Thiago Motta announced the Juventus XI on the eve of the game and announced that Swedish left-back Rouhi would make his first Serie A start. The same applies to Danilo, who is making his first appearance in the Juventus team under Motta.

“I trust him like I trust all my players,” Motta told DAZN about Danilo.

“We only have strong players in the team and they all worked well this week. I am convinced that the starters will deliver an excellent performance.”

The Bianconeri have yet to concede a goal in Serie A, but have suffered three consecutive 0-0 draws.

“Criticism is fair and we accept it. “Obviously we are a solid team for now, having only conceded one goal in the Champions League,” Motta said.

“We play well in open games and create a lot in attack. We had more problems against teams that defended deep. We have to improve there.”

Thiago Motta explains Juventus’ lineup decisions against Genoa

Why did he give Rouhi a chance and leave Andrea Cambiaso and Juan Cabal on the bench?

“Andrea and Juan did well, even if Juan is more of a central defender,” explained Motta.

“Jonas is a young man who worked with us in pre-season. He always trained with intensity and quality. I saw him well this week. He starts today because he deserves it and I am sure he will deliver an excellent performance.”

Juventus have picked up nine points from their first five games of the season and a win today against Genoa would take them to the top of Serie A ahead of Turin’s game against Lazio on Sunday.