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Juventus-Deportivo Preview

After a 3-month break, the Champions League restarts with a number of very attractive and thrilling matches, and one of the most important among those is certainly Juventus-Deportivo La Coruña. The huge importance of this clash can be deducted by simply taking a look at the Group D ranking, which definitely looks like the most balanced of this second phase: after the first two rounds, all of the four teams are tied in first place with a win and a defeat. 

Before the break, both teams suffered a clear away defeat. The Bianconeri fell at Arsenal 3-1, while Deportivo confirmed their negative away trend losing 3-0 in Leverkusen. Since that period, the Spanish team seems to have maintained almost the same shape, while on the other hand Juve have shown a huge improvement. 

Indeed, Juve have a big edge on the mental side, at least on paper. Last Saturday Lippi's men defeated Fiorentina and conquered the Serie A lead, while the Galician side will join this match in a bad mood, following a heartbreaking 2-3 defeat at the Nou Camp against Barcelona. 

TEAM NEWS

-Juventus: coach Lippi will have some trouble in building his squad for the clash with Deportivo. In addition to long-term injured strikers Salas and Amoruso, the hosts will miss suspended Nedved and Birindelli, as well as injured Croatian defender Tudor. The lack of the Czech midfielder will force Lippi to field a 4-4-2 line-up, instead of the 4-3-1-2, with both Conte and Zambrotta in the starting eleven. 

Probable line-up (4-3-1-2): Buffon; Thuram, Ferrara, Iuliano, Pessotto; Zambrotta, Tacchinardi, Conte, Davids; Del Piero, Trezeguet
Bench: Carini, Paramatti, Zenoni, Scardina, Maresca, Zalayeta, Guzman

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-Deportivo La Coruña: the guests will be without one of their most influential players, experienced skipper Fran, who is suffering from an ankle injury. Donato, Helder, Djorovic and Jose Manuel will also be sidelined for the guests. Victor will undergo a fitness test before the match, but the midfielder is expected to be in the starting eleven. 

Starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Molina: Scaloni, Naybet, Cesar, Romero; Sergio, Mauro Silva; Victor, Valeron, Amavisca; Tristan
Bench: Nuno, Hector, Capdevila, Duscher, Djalminha, Pandiani, Makaay

FORM GUIDE

Juventus last 6 matches: WWWDDW. The Bianconeri are on a roll. In the Serie A, their latest defeat dates back to November 24th, a 0-1 at the Olimpico against Lazio. Following that negative outing, Lippi's men have collected nine wins and three draws in twelve matches, recovering a seven-point gap from the top of the Serie A ranking and taking the lead with a tiny advantage over Roma and Inter. In the meanwhile, Juve also secured a spot in the Coppa Italia final. 

Deportivo last 6 matches: DDLWDL. It's not a good moment for Irureta's team, who collected a win only once in their last six matches, precisely in the Galician derby against Celta Vigo. At the Riazor stadium, where they are traditionally very strong, Deportivo are winless in the last three matches, including a disappointing 1-1 draw in the Copa Del Rey against second division side Figueres. Last Saturday's 2-3 defeat against Barcelona pushed them back into the 7th position of the Liga ranking, three points below leaders Valencia. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

-Juventus: David Trezeguet. Deportivo's defence is more than suspect, having conceded 33 goals in 26 Liga matches, and it's hard to see the over-confident French striker not taking profit of this weakness.

-Deportivo: Diego Tristan. Juve's defence has been looking very reliable of late, but the Spanish international will be a very tough opponent for Thuram and company. So far, the former Mallorca striker has scored eleven goals in the Liga, including one in last week's defeat against Barcelona.