Serie A champions Juventus tried their best to hold Bayern Munich to a 2-2 draw in their first leg clash in the Round-of-16 of the UEFA Champions League last month, but the Old Lady know that the Bavarian giants still have the away goal advantage. The two football giants meet once again Wednesday for their second leg and the most crucial encounter of the competition.
Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben got the two-goal cushion for the Bundesliga powerhouses by the 56th minute in their match at the Juventus Stadium. However, the home side showed real courage and determination to level the game by the 77th minute, thanks to goals from Paulo Dybala and Stefano Sturaro.
This time, however, it needs to be seen whether Juventus have the fight to contain Bayern from scoring in the match at the Allianz Arena in Munich. In their home turf, Bayern Munich are simply unstoppable and thus the Turin giants have plenty of reasons to be under pressure.
Pep Guardiola, Bayern coach, is, however, not willing to rest on complacency at any cost as the Spanish coach knows the potential of Juventus.
"Juventus are Juventus, with their own special spirit. The situation is the same as ever: Juve will be very strong opponents," the Barcelona ex-manager told UEFA. "Juve can defend with ten men, with concentration and focus. I don't like this style of play, but I am impressed by the way they do it."
"They can also keep the ball with players like Paul Pogba, and they can attack. Juve can always score goals. We really will need to be at our best to win. We're all looking forward to this 'final'," Guardiola explained.
A massive worry for Juventus is the fitness of striker Mario Mandzukic. The Croatian forward has a groin strain and he looks doubtful to feature in the match. "Mandzukic is an extraordinary player. We will decide if he will play or not. He trained well, but we do not know yet if he is going to play from the start," Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said.
The injury worry for Allegri doesn't start and end with Mandzukic, however. Defenders Martin Caceres, Giorgio Chiellini, midfielder Claudio Marchisio and forward Dybala are also unavailable for the match owing to their respective injuries.
"Of course it is a pity that we have some injury problems. But we cannot risk anything with those lads, there are many other, very important, games for us in Serie A and the Coppa Italia," added Allegri.
Possible lineups:
Bayern Munich - Neuer; Lahm, Kimmich, Alaba, Bernat; Vidal, Alonso; Robben, Muller, Costa; Lewandowski.
Juventus - Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Evra; Cuadrado, Khedira, Hernanes, Pogba; Morata, Mandzukic.
Where to watch live
Bayern Munich vs Juventus is scheduled to kick-off at 8:45 p.m. CET (1:15 a.m. IST, 7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. ET), March 16.
Viewers in India can catch the game on Ten Sports, while the streaming option of the game is also available on tensports.com.
UK viewers can catch the game on BT Sport 2, while the online live stream option is on BT Sport Live. The BT Sport app will also show the match Live. Radio commentary will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.
US viewers can catch the game on Fox Sports 2 USA and ESPN Deportes. The option of live streaming is also available on FoxSoccer2Go and Fox Sports Go.
People in Germany can tune into Sky Sport 1/HD and Sky Sport 2/HD. The live streaming is also available on Sky Go Deutschland. The radio commentary is available on Sport 1.
People in Italy can tune into RSI La 2 and PremiumSport HD.
