Juventus keep the 3-5-2 at Stamford Bridge with Mirko Vucinic and Sebastian Giovinco against John Terry’s Chelsea, but Juan Mata is benched.
The Bianconeri make their return to the Champions League after a two-year absence and begin with the trophy holders in London tonight.
Juventus keep the 3-5-2 at Stamford Bridge with Mirko Vucinic and Sebastian Giovinco against John Terry’s Chelsea, but Juan Mata is benched.
The Bianconeri make their return to the Champions League after a two-year absence and begin with the trophy holders in London tonight.
As expected, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Arturo Vidal, Kwadwo Asamoah and Vucinic return to the starting XI after the 3-1 win at Genoa on Sunday. Gigi Buffon marks his 400th appearance for the Old Lady.
Coach Antonio Conte – who is in the stands due to a 10-month touchline ban for failing to alert authorities to a potential fix while at Siena – sticks with the 3-5-2 system.
Chelsea are top of the Premier League despite being held by QPR at the weekend and are hoping the form of Eden Hazard can fire them up in Europe.
Fernando Torres is in the starting line-up despite his angry reaction to a substitution at the weekend, backed by Oscar and Ramires, so Juan Mata is surprisingly sent to the bench.
John Terry shook off a knee problem he picked up in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with QPR and is available again after a two-match European ban, while John Obi Mikel has recovered from back pain.
These sides also faced off in the Round of 16 in 2009, as a spectacular 2-2 draw in Turin was followed by Chelsea’s 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.
In a somewhat worrying statistic, Juventus have lost their last five consecutive Champions League trips to England against Liverpool, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Arsenal (twice).
The last time the Bianconeri conquered English soil in this competition was 1-0 at Manchester United in the group stage on November 11, 1996.
Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, David Luiz, Terry, Cole; Lampard, Mikel; Ramires, Hazard, Oscar; Torres
Chelsea bench: Turnbull, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Bertrand, Juan Mata, Moses, Oriol Romeu
Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah; Giovinco, Vucinic
Juventus bench: Storari, Lucio, Giaccherini, Isla, Marrone, Matri, Quagliarella