Valerio Pennicino - Getty Images
Juventus have the edge in Group E thanks to their come from behind draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. In order to keep it they'll have to deal with Shakhtar Donetsk in Turin, a much more difficult task than it appears.
Juventus are a team making a lot of noise -- going undefeated last season (save the Coppa Italia final) and winning the Scudetto will do that. On top of that, they played reasonably well against defending champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, eventually coming back from a 2-0 deficit to earn a point in England. That point sees the Bianconeri in pole position to top Group E. If, that is they can beat current leaders Shakhtar Donetsk at home.
The Ukrainians started out their Champions League run with a fun runaround against the group's presumptive whipping boys, handling Norsejaelland without much of a problem. That's not really an accomplishment -- if the Danes earn any points at all in this group it'd be a bit of a shock -- but Shakhtar will be confident enough when they go to Turin. And they might even be able to get a result.
Juventus showed their resiliance against Chelsea, but they also demonstrated that they might not be particularly happy with teams that play at pace. That's a hallmark of Shakhtar's game. At home, they should be relatively easy to contain, but if the visitors figure out a way of shutting down Andrea Pirlo and unleashing the terrifying Henrikh Mkhitarayan, there's nothing stopping them coming away from Italy with a point.
The Old Lady can't allow their slender advantage in Group E slip away like that, and they'll be hoping that their latest performance, a straightforward demolition of Roma, is a harbinger of things to come on Tuesday.
Date/Time: Tuesday October 2nd. 8:45 p.m. CEST, 2:45 p.m. EDT.
Venue: Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy.
TV information: Sky Calcio 1 (Italy), Sky Sports Red Button (UK).
Watch Online: Fox Soccer 2 Go (USA)
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