Champions League fixtures preview: Juventus vs Bayern Munich

The Italians face a tough test of overcoming a 2-goal deficit after first quarterfinal game in Germany.

Juventus looked surprisingly poor in the first leg as the Germans impressed and dominated throughout the match. A wonderful Bayern performance combined with little pressure from the Italians made the impression that Bayern were on a higher level than their rivals.

Bayern come to Turin even in better mood than a week ago as the team clinched the Bundesliga crown at the weekend with an unprecedented advantage of 20 points with six matches left to play. The Munich powerhouse conceded just 13 goals in the championship, winning all 11 matches this year. Yet Jupp Heynckes’ men openly target the Treble this season with league, cup and European crown.

It will be difficult for Juve to keep Bayern from making a small step in the direction of their dream and qualifying into the next round. The Italians should be disciplined in the defense as an away goal by the Germans will put an end in the tie.

The colossal task the Old Lady face is even tougher considering squad problems with suspensions of midfielder Arturo Vidal and defender Stephan Lichtsteiner and an injury picked by striker Sebastian Giovinco. Antonio Conte is likely to put into the starting XI Federico Peluso instead of Kwadwo Asamoah, while Paul Pogba may come in place of the suspended Vidal. Giovinco’s injury could lead to Vucinic playing with either Alessandro Matri or Fabio Quagliarella up front.

Bayern will play without Toni Kroos who tore adductor muscles in his thigh in the first match; however, the side may use Javi Martinez whose suspension is over. Yet the biggest problem for Bayern may be their overconfidence which has already influenced the side’s performance this term when the Germans were defeated by clear underdogs BATE Borisov, Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal.