Juventus travel to Germany at the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday night, with the hopes of sealing their Champions League quarter-final berth against Borussia Dortmund.
Juventus won the first leg 2–1, leaving the match evenly poised. Indeed, Marco Reus’ away goal is sure to keep the Bianconeri extra vigilant in Wednesday’s clash.
Juventus will face an important midweek Champions League test; after ruling the roost in Serie A the Bianconeri must now prove their worth in Europe. Often pilloried for their nervousness and unconvincing performances over the last few seasons, Juventus now have a chance to silence their critics should they qualify against Dortmund.
Massimiliano Allegri will have to do so without Andrea Pirlo however, who was ruled out by the injury he had sustained in the first leg. To compensate for his absence and with the return of Andrea Barzagli, the Juventus coach would be setting up with a 3-5-2 when he travels to Germany.
The hero of the first leg, Alvaro Morata will feature from the start and Claudio Marchisio will deputise for the injured Pirlo.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who had his issues in front of goal on the weekend as Dortmund drew 0–0 with Koln, will lead the attack in favor of ex-Torino man Ciro Immobile. The off-form Henrikh Mkhitaryan is also expected to drop to the bench. Surprisingly it will be Kevin Kampl to take his place, even ahead of Japanese international Shinji Kagawa.
All eyes will be on Dortmund’s star man Reus of course, with the German having already won the initial round of his personal battle against Gianluigi Buffon.
Form Guide: Borussia Dortmund (W-W-W-W-D-D) Juventus (W-D-W-D-W-W)
Expected Starting XIs
Juventus (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Marchisio, Pogba, Evra; Tevez, Morata.
Borussia Dortmund (4-2-3-1): Weidenfeller; Kirch, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer; Sahin, Gundogan; Blaszczykowski, Kampl, Reus; Aubameyang.
