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Every Champions League fixture must be treated as a knock-out game by Bayer Leverkusen from this point forward, as the Bundesliga leaders are currently bottom of the ultra-competitive Group X and must win both of their remaining matches in order to stand a healthy chance of securing a berth in the quarterfinal stage of the world's most prestigious club tournament.

Truth be told, it would not be regarded as an absolute disaster if Klaus Toppmoeller's dark horses fail to progress to the final eight, as only the most partisan of the team's loyal band of supporters would categorize Bayer as a bona fide member of Europe's elite – though they are definitely headed in that direction. 

A far greater priority for Leverkusen is the conquest of the frustratingly elusive Bundesliga title and to juice as much life's lesson as they can from wherever their European adventure may take them, in order to be that much better prepared when they inevitably get their next shot at the coveted Champions League trophy. 


Just like Leverkusen, Juventus absolutely must conquer all three points in order to qualify for the quarterfinals: even a draw, let alone a defeat, would likely be fatal for the Bianconeri, depending on the outcome of the Highbury match between Arsenal and Deportivo. 

So far, the second phase of the Champions League was a very troubled one for Lippi's men, who find themselves in this must-win situation against the Germans team due to their poor performances in their two away outings in the second phae - namely the 1-3 defeat against the Gunners and last round's tough 0-2 setback in La Coruña.

Unfortunately for the Italian visitors, they are neither in the best physical nor mental condition going into this crucial encounter. Half of Juve's regular eleven will be sidelined with injuries or suspensions, though it has to be said that the Bianconeri haven't exactly looked like world-beaters lately, even when coach Marcelo Lippi has had his entire roster at his disposal. 

TEAM NEWS…

Toppmoeller shelved his plans to rest several key performers for the trip east to face Energie Cottbus on the weekend, and will be now praying that the exhaustive demands of six matches in the short span of 16 days will not choose to take its toll of all times against Juventus on Tuesday. Although they will not be fully-tanked, at least the mop-topped manager will have all of his main weaponry available to him for the hotly anticipated visit of the Turin giants. German international defender Jens Nowotny is the only member of the 'Werkself' currently labouring with an injury, though he is sure to continue to tough out his ankle problems on Tuesday. 

Leverkusen 4-4-2 (probable): Butt - Schneider, Lucio, Nowotny, Placente - Ramelow, Ballack, Bastürk, Zé Roberto - Berbatov, Kirsten 


Plenty of concerns for Lippi, who will face this fundamental clash without a number of key men. Iuliano and Davids are suspended, while Del Piero, Salas, Thuram and Montero are injured. 

The former Inter chief is planning to field Tudor and Ferrara in the middle of the defensive line and Tacchinardi in the middle, while either Birindelli or Zenoni will start the match as right back. 

To make things worse, Trezeguet is doubtful due to an inflammation to his right knee. The French striker should manage to recover, otherwise Uruguayan Zalayeta will pair up with Amoruso in the offensive line. 

Juventus 4-4-2 (probable): Buffon; Birindelli, Ferrara, Tudor, Pessotto - Zambrotta, Tacchinardi, Conte; Nedved - Amoruso, Trezeguet

FORM GUIDE…

Leverkusen's last 6 matches (all competitions): TWLTWW

Bayer suffered little ill effect from their humbling 4-1 defeat at Arsenal a little under a fortnight ago. Since that bitter London lesson, the Leverkuseners battled out a useful tie in Freiburg, advanced to the final of the DfB Pokal at the expense of 1 FC Koeln, and further strengthened their German championship credentials with a tidy 2-0 victory over Energie Cottbus last weekend. 

Juventus' last 6 matches (all competitions): WDDLWD

Juve have won only twice in the last eight contests, defeating 2-1 Fiorentina at home and then Bologna, both in rather unconvincing fashion. Apart from the disappointing 2-0 loss against Deportivo La Coruña, which turned this match against Leverkusen into a decisive one for them, the Bianconeri have collected nothing but draws in all of their other recent outings. Nevertheless, Lippi's men managed to book their ticket to the final of the Coppa Italia at the expense of AC Mila and trail Serie A leaders Roma and Inter by only one point.