Juventus VS Dynamo Kyiv, go for hosts

Match Time：12/3/2020 04:00 Thursday  (GMT+8)

UEFA Champions League --  Juventus   VS   Dynamo Kyiv

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Juventus host Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Wednesday, with the only matters left to resolve in Group G determining whether Barcelona or Juventus progress as winners, and whether Ferencvaros or Dynamo Kiev drop into the Europa League via third place.

The Italian side ran out 2-0 winners in Kiev in the most recent meeting between the two sides in October.

 

Match preview

Juventus sealed qualification for the Champions League knockout stages for the seventh successive season with a last-gasp Alvaro Morata winner in the 2-1 victory at home to Hungarian side Ferencvaros last time out.

The Spaniard's strike completed a surprisingly tough turnaround after Cristiano Ronaldo had levelled proceedings in the first half following Myrto Uzunis's surprise opener.

Unless Barcelona stumble against the Hungarians in the other match in the group, the Italian champions are likely to require three goals in a two-goal win at Camp Nou against Barcelona on the final matchday to have any chance of finishing top of the group.

As such, Andrea Pirlo can look to rest as many key players as possible, with reducing the six-point gap between his side and Sassuolo at the top of Serie A his primary focus.

It has been a disappointing Champions League campaign for Dynamo Kiev, who are competing in the group stages of the competition for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

The Ukrainian runners-up have not reached the knockout stages since surprisingly reaching the semi-finals in the 1998-99 season, which was when Andriy Shevchenko and Sergiy Rebrov first announced themselves on the European stage.

Mircea Lucescu's side have never looked like matching those heady heights; not that they were expected to after being drawn with recent finalists Barcelona and Juventus.

However, the manner of their 4-0 home defeat to a weakened Barcelona side - missing the likes of Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi - was extremely disappointing, as was their failure to beat Ferencvaros despite going two goals ahead. Finishing ahead of the Hungarians in order to remain in European competition will now be Lucescu's main aim.

 

Juventus Champions League form: WLWW

Juventus form (all competitions): WWDWWD

Dynamo Kiev Champions League form: LDLL

Dynamo Kiev form (all competitions): WLLWLW

 

Team News

With qualification wrapped up, and finishing first in the group an unlikely prospect, Pirlo is likely to ring the changes ahead of Saturday's Turin derby against Torino.

Morata was sent off in the weekend's 1-1 draw at Benevento, so is likely to start against Kiev due to being suspended against Torino, with Ronaldo and Paolo Dybala rested in attack.

Adrien Rabiot and Arthur are likely to receive a rest in midfield, with Rodrigo Bentancur and Weston McKennie potentially replacing them, while it would be no surprise to see a heavily-rotated defence, too, though Merih Demiral and Giorgio Chiellini's muscle injuries do not help Pirlo's cause in that area of the pitch.

Legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon could join Paul Scholes on 124 matches in the Champions League and move into the top ten record appearance holders in Europe's elite competition.

The visitors, meanwhile, have their own injuries to contend with. Volodymyr Kostevych (knee), Oleksandr Tymchyk (abductor), Nazariy Rusyn (collarbone) and Mykyta Burda (Achilles) are all out for Lucescu's side.

Star man Viktor Tsygankov returned to the side at the weekend, scoring in a 2-0 win over Vorskla, having missed last week's defeat to Barcelona.

 

Juventus possible starting lineup:

Buffon; Cuadrado, Danilo, Bonucci, Frabotta; Bentancur, McKennie; Bernardeschi, Chiesa, Kulusevski; Morata

Dynamo Kiev possible starting lineup:

Bushchan; Kedziora, Popov, Zabarnyi, Mykolenko; Andriyevskyi, Shaparenko; Tsygankov, Shepelev, De Pena; Verbic

 

Juventus 2-1 Dynamo Kiev

 

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