Juventus host Manchester City in the Champions League at the Juventus Stadium in Turin on Wednesday night, looking to secure a place in the next round of the competition.
The Bianconeri need one point to secure a place in the round of 16, whilst Manchester City are already mathematically through. Both teams will surely aim for victory nonetheless, as they strive for first place in Group D and avoid the better sides in the next round.
The Old Lady drew 1-1 against Borussia Monchengladbach in their previous game in the group, with City winning 3-1 away in Sevilla. The Bianconeri, however, come into the game from a convincing 1-0 win over AC Milan in Serie A, whilst the Citizens were defeated by Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium by incredible 4-1 scoreline on Saturday evening.
City and Juventus played each other in the opening game of Group D, with the Bianconeri taking all three points at the Etihad, thanks to goals by Alvaro Morata and Mario Mandzukic.
Both strikers will be available for Massimiliano Allegri, but only the Spaniard is likely to start alongside Paulo Dybala, whose recent form has been phenomenal.
Allegri will not be able to count on Sami Khedira in the middle, as the German international suffered another problem to his thigh, which will keep him out for at least another week. In his place, Allegri has to pick between Stefano Sturaro and Mario Lemina, next to the confirmed duo of Claudio Marchisio and Paul Pogba.
Juventus are set to play with a more defensive 3-5-2 formation, with the only doubt being who will be deployed as left wing back, as Patrice Evra finished the game against Milan with an injury, with Alex Sandro likely to start in his place.
Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini has Samir Nasri ruled out for over three months due to a tendon injury. On the positive side, Sergio Aguero is back on top form after scoring on his return against Liverpool and demonstrating his full recovery after a period on the sidelines.
Manchester City also have playmaker David Silva out with the same ankle injury that has made him miss their last eight games. Jesus Navas, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne are expected to line up behind Aguero in attack.
Pellegrini also has problems in defence, with captain Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta both unavailable, with Bacary Sagna and Martin Demichelis likely to start instead.
Both teams are likely to be in the next round of the Champions League, but whoever wins this game will have a much easier encounter when the competition restarts in February.
Form Guide: Juventus (L-W-D-W-W) Manchester City (W-W-W-D-L)
Expected Starting XI’s:
Juventus: Buffon; Barzaglu, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Lemina, Marchisio, Pogba, Alex Sandro; Morata, Dybala.
Manchester City: Hart; Sagna, Otamendi, Demichelis, Kolarov; Fernando, Toure; Sterling, De Bruyne, Navas; Aguero.
Infographic from sporticos.com
They’re already weak defence is weaker, we must take advantage of this and attack as much as possible.