16 March 2016
Juve vs. Germans
Juventus boast a highly favourable record in two-legged ties against German sides, having progressed on 13 out of 16 occasions in the past, most recently in last year’s Champions League round of 16 win over Borussia Dortmund.
This term, meanwhile, the Bianconeri have drawn all three of their encounters against opposition hailing from the Bundesliga: 0-0 and 1-1 against Borussia Monchengladbach in the group stage and 2-2 this February against Bayern Munich.
Bayern vs. Italians
Bayern have celebrated victory in four out of their previous ten Champions League knockout-stage ties against Italian clubs. Their last elimination from the competition at the hands of sides hailing from Serie A came in 2010/11 when Inter overhauled a 1-0 first-leg home loss to triumph on away goals (3-3 on aggregate).
Bianconeri and Bundesliga
Sami Khedira made his name initially at hometown club Stuttgart, where he won the German league title in 2007. The midfielder’s Bundesliga record against Bayern Munich is W3 D1 L2.
Andrea Barzagli too claimed Bundesliga honours (in 2009) during his two-year spell at Wolfsburg between 2008 and 2010.
Case of the ex
Wednesday night sees Mario Mandzukic return to the Allianz Arena for the first time since leaving Bayern Munich in 2014. The Croatian striker enjoyed two successful seasons in Bavaria, scoring 39 goals in 74 appearances.
Arturo Vidal could face his former employers Juventus for the second time this term, having started the first leg in Turin. Meanwhile, French forward Kingsley Coman is vying to make a maiden appearance against the Bianconeri after joining the Bundesliga giants on a two-year loan deal last summer.
Pep’s past in Italy
Pep Guardiola was a Serie A player with Brescia and Roma between 2001 and 2003, losing on both occasions in which he faced Juventus during his time in Italy.
Incidentally, Guardiola lifted the Champions League with Barcelona in 1992 in his very first match against an Italian outfit, when Sampdoria were the losing finalists.
Prime performers
Crucial strikes from Paulo Dybala and Stefano Sturaro (their first in the Champions League respectively) earnt Juventus a hard-fought draw in Turin, but there were also standout displays from all corners of the field, as demonstrated below:
Defensive duel
The Bianconeri and Bayern have identical defensive records in this season’s Champions League, having conceded five times each (only three goals apiece in the group stage).
As regards domestic form, the Bavarians have conceded two fewer goals (13) than the Italian champions (15) in their respective leagues, but have let in four more since the turn of the year (5 to Juve’s 1), as Massimiliano Allegri’s men registered a 10th consecutive clean sheet in Serie A last Friday against Sassuolo.
Trigger happy
Bayern Munich have produced the most shots (150) and efforts on target (62) in this year’s Champions League, while they sit joint-top with Real Madrid on 21 goals so far in the current competition.
To the Bianconeri’s credit, however, Bayern have not fashioned a shot on target since Arjen Robben’s 55th-minute strike at Juventus Stadium. In addition, the Italian champions managed three more than their attack-minded visitors over the course of the evening.
Hope and history
Juve have progressed in all but one of the seven UEFA competition ties in which they drew the home first leg, including the last six.
The Bianconeri have also won both European ties where the home first leg finished 2-2 against Borussia Dortmund in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup semi-finals and Djurgårdens IF in the 2004/05 Champions League third qualifying round respectively.
Find out more about this record here.
Abundant experience
In Gigi Buffon and Patrice Evra, Juventus have a combined 250 caps in UEFA competitions (138 and 112 respectively). Meanwhile, of the players available to them on the night, Juventus count a further five men among their ranks, who have more than 50 European appearances to their name (Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sami Khedira and Mario Mandzukic). Like Juventus, Bayern too have two centurions on the European stage in Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso.
