Juventus are nursing a 2-1 deficit going into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League tie with Porto but Andrea Pirlo sees no need to panic. Juventus' domestic dominance over the past decade has not translated onto the European stage, with final defeats in 2015 and 2017 to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively proving tough to take. (More Football News)
Pirlo wants his side to be "clever" and "patient" as they seek to overcome a slender deficit and claim a place in the quarter-finals. Club legend made his final Juve appearance as a player in the UCL 2015 final, as goals from Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and Neymar saw Barca run out 3-1 winners in Berlin.
Juventus have been dealing with illness and injuries. Pirlo hopes Giorgio Chiellini and Matthijs de Ligt will recover in time to play Porto. Forward Paulo Dybala is still sidelined, while Rodrigo Bentancur is also out after contracting the coronavirus. Porto also has some injury problems, including defender Pepe with a right leg ailment.
But the good news for Juve is that Alvaro Morata is finding his best form at the right time. Morata had not scored in the league since December and was sidelined recently with illness but the forward has scored three times in his last two matches -- including in their 3-1 win over Lazio.
Morata has scored six goals in this season's Champions League, two more than teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. The 36-year-old Ronaldo was given some much-needed rest at the weekend and went on only for the final 20 minutes, which should leave him fresh for the match against Porto.
Porto, despite enjoying a lead, will be wary of Italian giants. The Portuguese side are winless in their previous 13 away Champions League knock-out matches.
Check match and telecast details here:
Match: Juventus vs Porto, UEFA Champions League 2020-21, Round of 16, second leg match.
Date: March 10 (Wednesday), 2021
Time: 01:30 AM IST
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy
TV Channels: Sony Ten 1/HD (In Indian sub-continent)
Live Stream: SonyLiv (Indian sub-continent)
Likely XIs:
Juventus: Szczesny; Cuadrado, Bonucci, Demiral, Sandro; Chiesa, Rabiot, McKennie, Ramsey; Morata, Ronaldo.
Porto: Marchesin; Manafa, Pepe, Mbemba, Zaidu; Oliveira, Uribe, Otavio, Corona; Taremi, Marega.
