Claudio Ranieri's Return: Back to the Bridge in the Champions League

It’s finally here. As all of Europe’s elite have been sieved and filtered, we are left with, essentially, the eight biggest clubs in the world in the final 16 of the Champions League.

The laws of physics then, if you consider that every team left is a consistent top-four finisher in their domestic leagues, suggest that there are going to be some earth-moving clashes.

One of which is between Premier League title contenders Chelsea and the most successful club in Italy, the Turin giants Juventus.

Form of both clubs going into this match is nothing short of disappointing. Chelsea have been having trouble finding consistency of late whilst Juventus, who were realistic Scudetto challengers, have seen themselves slip nine points behind league leaders Inter Milan (who encounter English champions Manchester United).

The situation with Chelsea’s manager will do nothing to help either team as Claudio Ranieri (former Chelsea manager) has to sit himself back down at the drawing board to redevelop his tactics for this colossal conflict.

Both teams have strengths which teams would desire. Players with pace and experience run through both teams (pace not so much when considering Juventus). But nonetheless, the Italian club has a wealth of experienced veterans who relish the spotlight and rise to the occasion of big games.

Starting from the back, Gianluigi Buffon (arguably the best goalkeeper in the world) provides a nice concrete wall between the sticks that  not only intimidates the attack of Chelsea but injects confidence into the back defensive line of the "Bianconeri."

Giorgio Chiellini has risen to prominence over the last season or two for Juventus, defending with world class attributes, firmly stating his name as one of the biggest prospects of the future.

Spending potentially his last season with Juventus, Pavel Nedved has been a great example to football for years now. Winning the Ballon D’or may seem centuries ago but, when his form picks up in a game, he is still able to roll back the years and shrug off that age badge of 36.

Then as we assess the frontline of Juventus, I ask you to stop and consider this: Do they have arguably one of the best strike forces in world football? David Trezeguet, Amauri, Giovinco, Laquinta, and of course Alessandro Del Piero form a deadly attacking "pick an’ mix."

With the youth of Giovinco, the finishing of Trezeguet, the pace of Amauri and the magic of Del Piero, can Juventus breach the Chelsea defence? This will be a mouth-watering clash of two very different styles of football; fusing together to create a must-see game of this round.