Juventus will be hosting Bayern Leverkusen at Turin as both teams look to register their first win in the Champions League this season.
Juve gave away a two-goal lead against Atletic Madrid as the game ended in level terms, while Leverkusen started off with a defeat to Lokomotiv Moscow.
Match Details
Date- Wednesday, October 2
Time- 12:30 AM (IST)
Venue- Juventus Stadium
Juventus Team News
Maurizio Sarri’s side finds itself at the second spot with 16 points in the league, but it’s the UEFA Champions League where they’ve been having some problems.
Considered as the favourites of the campaign over the past couple of years, Juventus hasn’t been able to perform as per expectations in the Champions League for quite some time now.
Juventus has won just one game in their last six outings in the Champions League. To make matters worse, the Italian club has been on the receiving end of three home defeats in six European games.
It almost seemed certain when Juan Cuadrado and Blaise Matuidi scored the goals at the Metropolitano, However, Atletico Madrid responded in perfect manner by scoring two goals in the final 20 minutes to share the points.
Good news for Juve fans is that Cristiano Ronaldo is fit again and is likely to be in the team sheet.
Giorgio Chiellini and Mattia Pein remain, long term absentees, while Mattia De Sciglio will also be on the sidelines due to a thigh injury.
Douglas Costa and Danilo are also in the injury lists and won’t play a part against Leverkusen.
Bayern Leverkusen Team News
Leverkusen occupies the sixth spot in the Bundesliga with 13 points. However, they are level on points with second positioned RB Leipzig.
Having said that, Bayern Leverkusen will have quite a task against Juve away from home. Peter Bosz’s side was tagged as favourites heading into the game against Lokomotiv Moscow but had to endure a 2-1 defeat.
But Leverkusen has found momentum in their last two games, as they beat Union Berlin and Augsburg in the league.
Talking about injury concerns, centre-forward, Leon Bailey will miss out the outing to Turin due to a muscle injury.
Joel Pohjanpalo will be expected to be back in the team sheet after being sidelined for 18 months due to foot injury.
Predicted Lineups
Juventus – Szczesny; Cuadrado, Bonucci, De Ligt, Silva; Ramsey, Pjanic, Matuidi; Dybala, Ronaldo, Higuain
Bayern Leverkusen- Hradecky; Weiser, Dragovic, S Bender, Sinkgraven, Baumgartlinger, Aranguiz; Havertz, Amiri, Volland; Alario
Key Points
The last time Juventus and Bayern Leverkusen squared off was in the year of 2002 with Leverkusen getting the better of Juve by beating them 3-1 back in the day.
Cristiano Ronaldo returning to lead the front line at home only sends in signals of a power-play performance by the Portuguese. Ronaldo has scored three goals in six appearances this season but is yet to score in the Champions League.
For Bayern Leverkusen, Kevin Volland can prove to be the main man in attack against Juve. The 27-year-old has scored three and assisted twice in seven appearances for his club.
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