BACKGROUND
What once appeared a cakewalk of a group for Juventus, no longer looks quite such a foregone conclusion, but a win against fellow heavyweights Feyenoord would send them through.
By all accounts the Old Lady were somewhat unfortunate not to have taken a point at Newcastle last week, but picked themselves up on Saturday to beat Udinese in Serie A. It must be said, that match had 1-0 written all over it. Without Alex Del Piero and David Trezeguet, the Bianconeri's attack was at far from full-strength but they just did enough, thanks to a Marcelo Salas goal, to see the visitors off.
"We didn't play that badly but even if we were not great to watch, we did get the three points which were the most important objective," said midfielder Alessio Tacchinardi who was reacting to suggestions that Juve weren't too impressive.
Despite their recent blip, Juve look strong all over. While Gianluigi Buffon will want to forget last week's howler on Tyneside, he remains one of the finest goalkeepers in the world. In front oh him he also has a back-line every bit as stingy as in previous seasons, conceding just two goals in the Champions League so far, and only four in Serie A.
The midfield looks strong, also. Edgar Davids, one senses, is on the verge of returning to his best, and was quite superb in the recent 1-1 draw at Inter.
In attack, meanwhile, one can have few worries about a forward line featuring the likes of Del Piero, Trezeguet, Salas, Marco Di Vaio and Marcelo Zalayeta. Possibly the finest set of strikers at any one club in the world
Feyenoord face the daunting prospect of travelling to Turin with the knowledge that they may need to get a result to keep their Champions League hopes alive. Last week's 2-0 defeat away to Dinamo Kiev has left Bert van Marwijk's side precariously placed in Group E
With two matches left to play both Kiev and Juventus are two points ahead of the Dutch outfit and thus leaving them with little margin for error. The UEFA Cup winners held the Italian champions to a draw at De Kuip six weeks ago, although were slightly fortunate to do so.
Feyenoord are not expected to leave the Stadio Delle Alpi with any points, but if they do and Newcastle win at home to Kiev you would fancy their chances of going through to the second group phase, or at least be given to chance to defend their trophy in Europe's other major club competition.
FORMGUIDE
Juventus' Last Six Matches: DWDDLW
The Old Lady's form has been far from spectacular. Parma, and Como have escaped with draws from the Delle Alpi, while Juve were beaten last week by Newcastle. However, Lippi's men did secure a fine point at Inter, as well as victories over Newcastle and most recently Udinese
Feyenoord's Last Six Matches: LDLDLW
The Rotterdam side ended a miserable run in some style at the weekend as they thrashed Willem II 5-1. Their opponents went into the game in fourth place, but were brought down to size by a Feyenoord side with a point to prove. They had lost to RBC Roosendaal and Ajax, and drawn with Vitesse in
the Eredivise previously, as well as their goalless draw and 2-0 defeat to Kiev in a five match winless run.
LATEST TEAM NEWS
Juventus: (Available later)
Feyenoord: Pierre van Hooijdonk is out due to a month-long ankle injury. The Dutchman's loss is a massive blow as he is a proven match winner, especially from dead-ball situations, as he showed against Juve when he levelled the game with a freekick. Although admittedly the referee had given him three attempts to hit the target. Feyenoord have only scored one other goal in their four Champions League matches, which is certainly a concern for van Marwijk. The coach may decide to stick with the winning formula from the weekend, although he hasn't got much choice with injuries to Leonardo, Ramon van Haaren, and Glenn Loovens.
PL (4-4-2): Zoetebier: Emerton, Van Wonderen, Paauwe, Rzasa; Song, Bosvelt (c), Ono, Kalou; Lurling, Buffel.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Edgar Davids (Juventus): the Dutch midfield terrier remains a key figure for club and country. His ability to break up attacks, and begin his own team's forays is matched by few in the game.
Anthony Lurling (Fenenoord): cemented his claim for a place in the starting line-up against Juventus with a fantastic performance at the weekend. He scored two well-taken goals and created another for Song Chong-Gug before claiming the Man of the Match award for his efforts.
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