Juventus vs Barcelona: Preview, team news, form guide, predicted lineups and score
Revenge will be on the cards as Juventus welcome Barcelona to Turin for the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. The Catalans had overcome Juventus in 2015 final when a Luis Suarez inspired performance saw them lift the trophy with a 3-1 win.
Both sides are on different paths at the moment with Juventus cruising to their sixth consecutive Serie A title while Barcelona are fighting to stay in contention for the La Liga crown and reached the last eight after a miraculous second leg win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona's second leg victory in the last knockout stage has taught us one thing that even a huge victory in the first leg does not guarantee a safe passage to the next stage. Juventus will be wary of that and know that Barcelona won't have an off day like they had at the Parc des Princes. Tonight's game will be a classic case of the renowned Italian defence against the best attacking trio of the world.
Form guide
Barring their last week's 3-2 defeat against Napoli in the second leg of the Coppa Italia, Juventus have not lost a game in over three months. Along with winning 32 home league games on a trot, which include 21 clean sheets, the Bianconeri have not lost a game in their last 21 European games at the Juventus stadium. Allegri's men have also not conceded a goal in 351 minutes in the Champions League and have let in just two goals in eight European matches.
Barcelona will arrive on the back of a disappointing 2-0 loss against Malaga as the Catalans will be keen to get back to winning ways. They have a huge task at their disposal as the Catalans are yet to beat Juventus on their home turf in four previous attempts (D2, L2).
Juventus: W-W-W-D-L-W
Barcelona: W-L-W-W-W-L
Team news
For the home side, Marko Pjaca is out for the remainder of the season with a knee ligament injury. Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Dani Alves, meanwhile, were rested for the weekend's match to be fit for the clash against Luis Enrique's men.
Barcelona, on the other hand, have a lot of absentees for tonight's big game. Sergio Busquets is suspended while Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal will miss the trip to Turin with long term injuries. Ivan Rakitic and Gerard Pique along with Andres Iniesta will return to the starting lineup after missing the game against Malaga.
Predicted lineups
Juventus - Buffon, Alves, Bonucci, Chiellini, Sandro, Khedira, Marchisio, Cuadrado, Pjanic, Dybala, Higuain.
Barcelona - Ter Stegen, Mascherano, Pique, Umtiti, Roberto, Rakitic, Iniesta, Alba, Messi, Suarez, Neymar.
Predicted score
Juventus 2-1 FC Barcelona