Juventus look set to deploy the ‘Fantastic Four’ in midfield for tonight’s Champions League semi-final second leg.
The Bianconeri take on Real Madrid at the Bernabeu looking to hold on to a 2-1 lead from the first leg and make the final of Europe’s top club competition.
Indications from today’s training session are that Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba and Claudio Marchisio, dubbed the ‘Fanstastic Four’ by Italian media, will all start in midfield.
Juventus look set to deploy the ‘Fantastic Four’ in midfield for tonight’s Champions League semi-final second leg.
The Bianconeri take on Real Madrid at the Bernabeu looking to hold on to a 2-1 lead from the first leg and make the final of Europe’s top club competition.
Indications from today’s training session are that Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba and Claudio Marchisio, dubbed the ‘Fanstastic Four’ by Italian media, will all start in midfield.
Injuries to Pirlo and Pogba have meant that the four have not played together in over two months, but that looks likely to change tonight, with Vidal playing in a slightly more advanced role than his colleagues.
Former Merengues striker Alvaro Morata looks set to be given the nod to start alongside Carlos Tevez up-front.
In defence, Andrea Barzagli looks likely to start the game on the bench, but will be ready to join Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini should Coach Max Allegri switch from 4-3-1-2 to 3-5-2 as things progress.
Patrice Evra and Stephan Lichtsteiner are virtual certainties to start at full-back, with Gianluigi Bufffon taking his customary place between the sticks.
A sold-out crowd of 81,000 will be boosted by 4,000 Bianconero fans, with the last eight tickets for the game being sold today for as much as €600.
The Spanish capital is in the grip of a heatwave at the moment, and the temperature is expected to still be as high as 31 degrees when the players take to the pitch at 19.45.
Probable Juventus line-up to face Real Madrid: Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, Evra; Marchisio, Pirlo, Pogba; Vidal; Tevez, Morata.