Success in Europe is paramount for Juventus if they are to have a strong end to the season. They face Benfica tonight.
For UK viewers, the clash starts at 8 pm, live on TNT Sports 5.
Michele Di Gregorio, Pierre Kalulu, Bremer, Lloyd Kelly, Andrea Cambiaso, Khephren Thuram, Manuel Locatelli, Kenan Yildiz, Weston McKennie, Francisco Conceicao, and Jonathan David.
Juve will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Anatoliy Trubin, Amar Dedic, Antonio Silva, Nicolas Otamendi, Samuel Dahl, Enzo Barrenechea, Leandro Barreiro, Fredrik Aursnes, Andreas Schjelderup, Georgiy Sudakov, Vangelis Pavlidis.
Benfica is also expected to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Daniele Rugani, Jonas Rouhi, Arkadiusz Milik, and star striker Dusan Vlahovic all miss out.
Juve’s star striker was injured in November and won’t return until March.
For Benfica, Alexander Bah is unavailable (cruciate ligament injury), and Richard Rios continues to recover from a shoulder injury.
Dodi Lukebakio is also sidelined for a sustained period of time after suffering a fractured ankle on international duty.
Juventus head into the game off the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat away to Cagliari.
The loss all but ends Juventus’ chances of winning Serie A, despite having won their previous three matches.
Juve is 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan in fifth, but Europe is still a place they can progress.
Luciano Spalletti’s men occupy 17th spot in the group phase, accumulating nine points.
After a shaky start to the season, drawing with Borussia Dortmund 4-4 and losing 1-0 to Real Madrid, results have picked up.
They drew 1-1 with Sporting CP before consecutive victories against Bodoe/Glimt and Pafos FC.
Wins against Benfica and AS Monaco on the final day would put them on 15 points, giving them a chance of an automatic finish.
Spalletti said, “When you play against teams like Benfica, you're not just facing an opponent, but a piece of football history, an identity.”
Jose Mourinho’s men sit two points out of the playoff spots on six points after successive wins against Ajax and Napoli.
The task couldn’t be more daunting for Mourinho’s side, who face the mighty Real Madrid in the final game of the group phase.
However, there is a good omen for the Portuguese giants.
The Portuguese giants have won seven of their previous nine games against Juventus.
Despite cup defeats to Braga and Porto, they got back on track at the weekend, beating Rio Ave 2-0.
Benfica finished 2025 unbeaten in 11 games, and they will need that sort of form to get a result tonight.
Mourinho knows how to deliver a masterclass, but this challenge may be too big.
He admitted, “Obviously, looking at the points and the standings, which are needed to qualify, we need to win.”
“It's clear that playing here with Inter is more different than anything else; that's where the Juventus fans' love comes from. Would I still coach Juventus? Of course I would!”
