UEFA Champions League 2016: Bayern Munich vs. Juventus Preview
The second leg of the Round of 16 for the UEFA Champions League 2016 has kicked off. On Wednesday, German club Bayern Munich will be facing Italian football club Juventus FC for the second time at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
The first time the two teams met was on February 23rd, with the match ending in a 2-2 draw. It was a come from behind effort for Juventus, who were down 2-0, and managed to even the score before time expired. In a report by BBC.com, Juventus will be missing the services of striker Paulo Dybala and midfielder Claudio Marchisio due to injury.
Dybala is out due to a swollen soleus muscle, while Marchisio is out due to a torn calf muscle. Bayern, on the other hand, will be coming in with a full line-up, and as the report had stated, also rested two of their key players over the weekend: winger Arjen Robben and striker Robert Lewandowksi.
But despite the setback of being plagued by injuries, Juventus remains positive coming into the match. According to defender Leonardo Bonucci, while they are aware about the opposing team's strengths, they are willing to exploit their weaknesses.
He also admitted to starting the first leg in "completely the wrong fashion", but says the entire team was aware that they had to put in more effort.
"We confronted one another face to face and took it upon ourselves to come out fighting and, from that point onwards, we saw the true Juventus once more," Bonucci said.
For their part, a victory for Bayern Munich would rightfully be important above all. According to team manager Pep Guardiola, the pressure for them to achieve victory has been immense.
"It's been like that for this club for the last 40 years: when we win, everyone is happy, when we don't, they are unhappy," Guardiola said.
Guardiola also took note of Juventus' "Italian mentality" and how it has won them a "thousand titles".
