Tuesday 17 March 2015 19:29, UK
Massimiliano Allegri insists Juventus must replicate their first-leg performance of subduing Borussia Dortmund in order to hold on to their lead and qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Borussia, who host Juve at the Signal Iduna Park, go in search of their first win over Juventus on home soil, having failed in the previous three attempts.
Marco Reus' goal in Turin kept the 2013 runners-up in the running after first-half strikes from Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata threatened to take the game away from Jurgen Klopp’s side.
And Juve coach Allegri, says his side's qualification hopes hinge on containing Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who have been in rich goal-scoring form in recent weeks.
"It will be a great game and I honestly can't see it ending 0-0. I think we'll need to score at least once to go through," Allegri said.
"In the first leg we didn't allow them a shot on goal, Dortmund only scored from our mistake.
"Dortmund have plenty of pace within their ranks. We must put in a good technical performance and strike their weak areas."
Allegri admits he is pondering a possible 4-3-1-2 line-up or a 3-5-2 formation which would see Patrice Evra, Paul Pogba, Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal and Stephan Lichtsteiner crowd the midfield.
Juventus received a boost on Saturday when defender Andrea Barzagli made his first start, in the league win against Palermo, after a long injury lay-off.
"I still have some doubts over the starting team and need to decide whether we play three or four at the back," said Allegri.
Juve's veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon says he is relishing the chance to play at Dortmund's 80,000-capacity Westfalenstadion stadium.
"The fans here? It's fervent from start to finish. It can be a real boost for the hosts but can also motivate the visitors," said the 37-year-old. "It's always a pleasure to come back to the Westfalenstadion. Matches here are never trivial."
Watch Dortmund v Juventus in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday. Coverage starts at 7:40pm, Sky Sports 1 HD.
