- Paulo Dybala, Gianluigi Buffon and Gonzalo Higuain all train with Juventus
- The Serie A champions face Barcelona in a decisive Champions League fixture
- They will look for a repeat of the 3-0 win over them in last season’s quarter-finals
- Massimiliano Allegri says defensive errors have cost Juventus so far this season
Massimiliano Allegri lead his Juventus team on a final training session ahead of Wednesday’s crucial Champions League group stage tie against Barcelona.
The Old Lady humbled Lionel Messi’s Barcelona in a quarter-final fixture in Turin last season and will need to at least match that performance to maintain a realistic chance of topping their group.
Paulo Dybala was the star that night and he looked in high spirits as he lead his team-mates through training drills on Tuesday afternoon. He, along with the rest of Juventus, go into the tie with a point to prove.
Paulo Dybala appeared in fine spirits as he trained in some late autumnal sunshine in Italy
The Juventus star jokes with Douglas Costa as the Juventus team prepare for their next game
Daniele Rugani (L), Juan Cuadrado and Miralem Pjanic prepare for the game against Barcelona
Gianluigi Buffon squints as the low sun shines in his eyes at Juventus’ training centre in Vinovo
While unbeaten Barcelona lead the way in their domestic competition following 11 wins and a draw from 12 games, Juventus are slightly off the pace in Italy and are currently four points behind leaders Napoli.
Despite a handful of poor results, head coach Allegri insists he does not have major concerns about his team and feels they can go all the way to the Champions League final for the third time in four seasons.
‘We lost two games in Serie A (against Lazio and Sampdoria) and analysing the first part of the season, we need to improve our defensive movements, because we have conceded too many goals,’ he said at his pre-match press conference.
Dybala and Costa continue their joke as players talk behind them during the training session
Star striker Gonzalo Higuain will face an old enemy in Barcelona when he plays on Wednesday
Mario Mandzukic and Giorgio Chiellini leap over hurdles as they undergo training
‘In football, it’s results that count and not performances. We must be quicker to react, but Juve don’t have any big problems.
‘We’ve scored 37 goals and conceded 14, it takes balance, and recently Juve always managed to mess something up and then recover.
‘Juventus can reach the final again. First of all, let’s get past the group stage, then we can talk again in March.’
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and defender Andrea Barzagli are expected to return to the Bianconeri starting XI after being rested at the weekend but midfielder Federico Bernardeschi has been ruled out by a thigh muscle problem.
Juventus need to beat Barcelona to guarantee their place in the knockout rounds of the competition with one game to spare. A defeat for Juventus would give Sporting Lisbon the chance to go equal on seven points by beating Olympiacos.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri addresses the media following the training session