Juventus will look to move one step closer to a dream Europa League final at their home ground when they travel France to take on Lyon in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie.
Juve have overcome their disappointment at being knocked out of the Champions League by marching on in the Europa League, and the Italians will start as clear favourites against a Lyon side, capable of upsetting them on their day.
The Italian champions, while being on their way to another Serie A title, did suffer a disappointing defeat at the hands of Napoli, and manager Antonio Conte wants to see his team show a reaction against Lyon.
"We'll face them aware of the fact that the first game is very important as far as the destiny of the tie is concerned," he said. "I hope the Napoli defeat gives us the strength to face the final sprint in the best way possible and I'm expecting a great performance from the whole team.
"Lyon are one of France's most established sides. They've won lots of league titles in recent years and have plenty of fine players. I think the area where they have the most quality is up front. We've done our homework, we know their strong points and think we may have also identified some weak areas."
Europa League: Lyon vs Juventus Live TV and Streaming Information (Match starts 9.05 pm CET, 8.05 pm BMT, 12.35 am IST, 3.05 pm ET):
Country | TV Broadcaster |
India | Ten Action |
US | Fox Soccer |
Canada | Sportsnet |
United Kingdom | ITV 4 |
Middle East | Bein SportsArabia |
Australia | Setanta Sports |
South Africa | SuperSport |
Country | Online links |
India | HERE |
US | HERE |
UK | HERE or HERE |
Middle East | HERE |
Canada | HERE |
Australia | HERE |
South Africa | HERE |
Lyon, who are also coming off a disappointing loss at the weekend - to rivals St. Etienne -- will have nothing really to lose in the tie, considering they are the underdogs, and manager Remi Garde will target a positive result at home, where they are unbeaten in the Europa League this season.
"My players may be young, but they're ambitious and this type of game will help them grow," former Arsenal player Garde said on Wednesday. "They can't wait to give it their all in this showcase. It will be our 52nd game of the year, but the best men available will be playing tomorrow nevertheless.
"We're up against a big team who are formidable opposition. We must make the most of this chance and not be content with just reaching the quarterfinals."
Team news: Lyon: The French side have plenty of injuries to contend with as Milan Bisevac, Gueida Fofana, Miguel Lopes, Mouhamadou Dabo, Clement Grenier and Yoann Gourcuff are all ruled out, but Samuel Umtiti could make a return pending a late fitness test.
Juventus: Conte also has a considerable injury list to worry about, with the suspended Arturo Vidal, joining Angelo Ogbonna, Federico Peluso and Andrea Barzagli on the sidelines.