Juventus Boss Confirms Star Men Will Be Fit for Champions League Second Leg With Tottenham
Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed that Paulo Dybala and Blaise Matuidi are set to feature in the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie against Tottenham.
The duo were badly missed for Juventus during the first leg which saw the Italian giants throw away an early 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Tottenham at the Allianz Stadium; with the London club dominating most of the proceedings after going behind.
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A Gonzalo Higuain double gave the hosts a 2-0 lead inside the first ten minutes, before Harry Kane rounded Buffon and tucked the ball home to give Tottenham a lifeline. When it looked as though Tottenham would be going into half time with their tails up despite being behind, Juve were awarded a penalty in first half stoppage time.
However, much to the surprise of the home fans, Higuain - who had previously slotted home a penalty to put Juve ahead - saw his penalty crash off the crossbar. He would be made to rue his miss when Christian Eriksen's second half free kick deceived Buffon in the Juve goal to give Tottenham two vital away goals heading into the second leg at Wembley.
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Juventus missed the goalscoring prowess of Dybala, who has already scored 14 goals in 19 Serie A appearances this season, and the versatility of Matuidi in the middle of the park - an area which was dominated by Eriksen and Mousa Dembele on the night.
Juve fans will therefore be pleased to hear Allegri is confident the duo will be fit and ready for the second leg at Wembley Stadium on March 7th. he told reporters (via 101GreatGoals): "Next week, everyone will be available, except for Juan Cuadrado.
"Dybala is in good condition, but not enough to start. He can probably play about 30 minutes [tomorrow]. From next week, Blaise Matuidi will be available too."
Tottenham have been labelled by many as favourites to progress to the quarter-finals, however the returns of Dybala and Matuidi will give Juve fans hope of progressing against the odds.
