'Juve not in a title race, Vlahovic could get rest' - Allegri

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said his team are not in a Serie A title race this season, despite their rivals for the Scudetto dropping points in recent matches.

After their poor start to the season, even a top-four finish looked beyond Juventus this term, but recent better form has propelled them back up the table, to within nine points of leaders AC Milan.

Milan, second-placed Inter Milan and Napoli in third have all shown signs of stuttering since Serie A returned from its winter break, but Allegri still believes returning to the summit is out of reach for the division's most successful side.

"We are fighting on all fronts, even if the Scudetto is hard, actually impossible," Allegri told a news conference on Friday ahead of his side's weekend clash with Empoli.

"We are out of the title race, I think that 85 points will be enough to win the title and we can't reach that. We have a Coppa Italia semi-final against Fiorentina and the Champions League against Villarreal.

"At the moment, it's a good season. Let's see which trophies we can lift, it's not easy to win every year."

While Juve are unbeaten in their last 12 Serie A matches, they have drawn their last three games in all competitions, unable to find the net on more than one occasion in each encounter.

Nonetheless, big-money January signing Dusan Vlahovic may get a rest against Empoli on Saturday, having scored his first-ever Champions League goal in Villarreal in midweek.

"Tomorrow, (striker) Moise Kean could play," Allegri added. "If he does, one between Vlahovic and Alvaro Morata will rest. Kean always has chances to score, so I am very calm about the matter."

(Reporting by Peter Hall; Editing by Christian Radnedge)