CL Preview: Juventus Faces Tricky Bavarian Test At Allianz Arena

Two of Europe’s superpowers are set to go head-to-head in a mouthwatering clash at a sold-out Allienz Arena on Wednesday evening.

Despite Juventus sputtering in the league as of late, they are only one point shy of Sampdoria and the top spot. Bayern Munich is coming into the game fresh from a defeat and currently has 11 points—sitting in seventh place—after an equal amount of games.

The fixture is undoubtedly the great highlight of Group A and, as always, there are incredibly valuable points at stake. The Germans got off to a perfect start after their 3-0 victory against Israeli side Maccabi Haifa, and are topping the group with three points.

The Italians are set to fight for victory considering their less than flattering start to their European adventure following an opening day draw against Bordeaux—laying the groundwork for an intensive affair where the smallest of errors could come to affect the outcome of the highly-anticipated encounter. 

Bayern Munich

After getting off to a bad start with only two points from three outings, the Bavarians managed to string together three victories in the Bundesliga before succumbing to rival Hamburger SV. Although there was no shortage of opportunities against the league leaders, there was a whole lot of inefficiency in front of goal.

Bayern currently sits in seventh place—six points shy of HSV—seven games into the new campaign.

With the arrival of striker Mario Gomez and wide-forwards Arjen Robben and Ivica Olic, the Germans truly have an impressive offense. On top of that, the Germans have in their ranks Franck Ribery, who will no doubt cause all kinds of trouble for Juventus’ backline.

Under the guidance of new coach Louis Van Gaal—who is one of Europe’s most experienced tacticians—the Bavarians got off to the perfect start in the Champions League as they defeated group minnows Maccabi Haifa by a 3-0 scoreline.

The Israelis struggled against Bayern’s sheer physicality and strength in both defense and midfield, but were able to hold onto the hour mark before finally conceding. The deadlock was broken at 64 minutes when Daniel van Buyten was able to smash home a right-footed shot after a corner kick had caused confusion in the Haifa penalty area.

The game was, however, far from over. The home side was pressing for an equalizer and came close to netting, but the 20-year old Thomas Müller would have none of it as he bagged a brace in the closing stages of the game to seal a 3-0 victory.

Van Gaal is still missing Martin Demichelis and Mark van Bommel. There is some bright news as Demichelis has returned to normal training, whereas the latter might have to wait until the end of the week before he can do the same.

Probable starting XI: Butt; Lahm, Van Buyten, Badstuber, Braafheid; Altintop, Tymoshchuk, Schweinsteiger; Robben, Gomez, Ribery

Juventus

After getting off to a high-flying start in the domestic league with victories over Chievo, Roma, Lazio, and Livorno, things have halted somewhat for The Old Lady of Turin.

Juventus is currently housing second place in the league—a single point shy of table topping Sampdoria.

Although there was controversy as Genoa held Juventus at the Marassi (considering at least one goal was disallowed incorrectly for offside), Ciro Ferrara’s men failed to impress as they hosted relegation candidates Bologna at the Olimpico.

The Bianconeri wasted several good chances and should have decided the game early on. Instead, they allowed the visitors to equalize the score deep into the stoppages—thus unnecessarily losing two precious points.

Juventus’ and the inexperienced coach Ciro Ferrara’s Champions League adventure didn’t get off to the best start as they hosted Ligue 1 champions Girondins De Bordeaux on match day one. The home side couldn’t find its flow and struggled in the driving rain.

Despite an unconvincing performance, Vincenzo Iaquinta managed to give the Bianconeri the lead around the hour mark—only to have it canceled out by Jaroslav Plasik 10 minutes later. Despite the outcome, the Italians should be more than happy with the draw considering the heroic performances by Gianluigi Buffon.

Although Juventus boasts one of the league’s least amounts of conceded goals, the statistic hardly mirrors the displays on the pitch. The defense has been vulnerable on several occasions and, had it not been for the Italy’s No. 1 between the sticks, the numbers would read quite differently.

Despite a struggling defense, Juventus still has an impressive midfield packed with creativity, flair, and strength in players such as Diego, Felipe Melo, Claudio Marchisio, and Mohamed Sissoko. Although Amauri hasn’t scored in eight months, both Vincenzo Iaquinta and David Trezeguet have looked impressive lately.

On top of that, captain Del Piero has returned to action following his injury.

After struggling with injuries for the past few weeks, most of the players are now back in training—with the only exception being Fabio Cannavaro, who has trained separately.

Both Alessandro Del Piero and Diego starred against Bologna and although both are competing for the same position, it’s far more likely that the latter will be allowed to make his debut in the Champions League in the Juventus shirt.

Probable starting XI: Buffon; Zebina, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Grosso; Poulsen, Felipe Melo, Marchisio, Diego; Amauri, Trezeguet