Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio has revealed his delight at being included in UEFA’s Team of the Year shortlist, and believes the Bianconeri can secure victory over Manchester City on Wednesday evening.
The Old Lady welcome Manuel Pellegrini’s squad to Turin for their penultimate Champions League Group D clash, with the winner likely to top the group and avoid other group winners in the knock-out stage.
“Of course I am very happy to be considered for the team of the season,” Marchisio stated during a press conference prior to their upcoming fixture.
“It is recognition for all the great work everyone did last year.
“We have been very consistent in Europe, last term we reached the Champions League Final, and this year we started out with two wins against City and Sevilla.”
The midfielder also said he is expecting a tough game on Wednesday evening despite City’s unconvincing domestic form.
“We meet City on home turf, they have a team of champions, but historically they have struggled in this tournament,” he said.
“We know they want to finish top of the group, but so do we, and we will fight it out to the end.
“The fact they have players missing changes nothing, they have a lot of depth; and besides, we are also missing important champions as well.
“City is fresh from a heavy defeat in the Premier League and that should give them more motivation, so we must be wary of their desire to fight back.
“Every year the giants of Europe improve, we know how difficult it is to win this tournament, but we have won matches at home as well as away, and we have proved that we are very much at home when playing in Europe.”
