Juventus hope to show that their recent Serie A drop of form is not the beginning of a deeper and more dangerous crisis when they host tricky Basel at the Delle Alpi stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Juve have yet to disappoint during Champion Leagues matches played on their home turf this season as they won all three matches played there, scoring nine goals and conceding only one.
However, this great record might be abruptly dashed as the Bianconeri have been looking everything but brilliant in their last outings.
Following a couple of impressive performances against Milan and Torino, Lippi's men showed a quite evident lack of shape over the last few weeks, and this state culminated in last Sunday's tough and unexpected loss against modest Brescia.
Basel are supposed to be the minnows of this qualifying group, and the 1-3 home defeat of the opening match against Manchester United seems to confirm this forecast, but Christian Gross' men have already showed that they are capable of giving problems to European giants such as Liverpool and Valencia.
The reigning Swiss champions might have already reached a huge goal by conquering the qualification to the second round, a feat made even more prestigious as it was at the expense of a team called Liverpool.
This was something that even the most optimistic among their fans didn't expect, but in the end having nothing to lose could be their strength.
TEAM NEWS
Good news for Juventus: for the first time this season, David Trezeguet will be in the starting lineup. The French striker has fully recovered from his injury and will pair up Alex Del Piero on the offensive line :extatic:, but he still lacks full form and coach Lippi will probably field him for just 45 minutes. Croatian defender Igor Tudor is the only unavailable player for the hosts.
No injuries or suspensions for Basel coach 'Kodjak' Gross, who will be able to field his best lineup at the Delle Alpi. In the last domestic league outing, a 4-1 away thrashing of Wil, the Swiss trainer could even afford to rest some of his key players, such as Haas and influential skipper Murat Yakin. Australian midfielder Ivan Ergic, who is owned precisely by Juventus, has recovered from a muscular injury and should be in the starting eleven.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Juventus: David Trezeguet. The French striker is the added value coach Lippi has been waiting for. It's quite clear that Juve are in trouble when Del Piero doesn't score, as all of the other strikers (Salas, Di Vaio, Zalayeta) have been quite disappointing so far. If there's a man who can solve this problem, his name is David Trezeguet.
Basel: Murat Yakin. The Basel skipper has carried out some really impressive performances in the first phase. The Swiss team will be under pressure for most of the 90 minutes, and Yakin will have to be almost perfect if the guests want to avoid a blowout.
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