Juventus vs Borussia Dortmund:
Perhaps the most interesting match of the Champions League Last 16 this week will be when Juventus take on German side Borussia Dortmund at home on Tuesday night. After failing to reach the Champions League knockout stages last year and being confined to the Europa League, Italian side Juventus are out to prove themselves.
Dortmund, runners-up to Bayern Munich two years ago, are enduring a dreadful season domestically; they have spent most of it at the wrong end of the Bundesliga and have even been at the very bottom on occasion. Finally, it seems, they are dragging themselves out of the relegation dogfight; they sit in twelfth, three points clear of the relegation zone. In stark contrast, Juventus are by far the best team in Serie A and are on course to win their fourth consecutive Scudetto. Recent fortunes suggest that Borussia Dortmund should be the underdogs going into that match tomorrow night.
Judging by domestic form, the match should be an easy win for Juventus. However, having clawed their way back up to 12th in the Bundesliga after a run of three straight victories, Dortmund may well play at their best and prove to be slightly harder to put away than their current Bundesliga ranking suggests. One has to remember that Borussia Dortmund topped their group, which included Arsenal, so their European form hardly mirrors that of how they have fared domestically.
Dortmund should put out quite an impressive squad; Marco Reus is back to full fitness and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is also expected to play. What’s more, there is the possiblity that striker Ciro Immobile could get some playing time against Juventus, whom he played for earlier in his career, and perhaps that will spur him on to play at his best.
Juventus could see midfielder Arturo Vidal back in action after suffering a groin injury earlier in the season, which is a huge relief, as he is one of the best midfielders in the world, and the talented Carlos Tevez will lead the line alongside either Alvaro Morata or Fernando Llorente. Certainly, they are not short of attacking options. Furthermore, the golden boy Paul Pogba, who is wanted by all the top clubs in Europe, will have to be kept quiet if Dortmund are to have any chance of getting through the tie.
Could the Borussia Dortmund boys cause an upset on Tuesday night in Turin? The last time the two met in this competition was in the Champions League final of 1997, where Dortmund emerged victorious to win their only Champions League trophy to date, and with the return of their striker Marco Reus, there is a chance that they could repeat the result. One thing’s for sure: it will be one of the closest ties of the round.
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