18 December 2015
The Bianconeri’s European rivals were whittled down from three to one following the Champions League last 16 draw in Nyon on Monday and in Bayern Munich, they may have been handed the most menacing of them all.
As indicated by club CEO Giuseppe Marotta and vice-president Pavel Nedved in the immediate aftermath of the formalities however, a lot can change in football in the space of two months.
As a result, between now and the Old Lady’s first leg encounter with the Bavarians on 23 February 2016 in Turin, Juventus.com will be tracing the course of such changes and oscillations in the German club’s fortunes to ensure that it will not just be the players approaching the match with the best possible preparation.
The first Bundesliga appointment for Pep Guardiola’s men after learning their European fate is in fact this Saturday (kick-off 15.30 CET) as they travel to third from bottom Hannover.
On paper, the encounter in Northern Germany only has one winner: last weekend’s narrow 1-0 victory over Darmstadt was Bayern’s 14th in 16 league outings, a tally that has seen them amass a staggering 43 points, putting them 14 clear of third-place Hertha Berlin.
Their hosts meanwhile are currently enduring their worst start to a season for 27 years, sitting two points ahead of bottom club Stuttgart with whom they share a league-high 10 defeats. What’s more, Hannover have lost all eight of their previous encounters with the reigning champions, conceding 30 goals in the process.
The example of Borussia Monchengladbach however, 3-1 victors over Guardiola’s men in November, may give hope to Die Rosen that a similar shock could be in the offing particularly given the absences of Bayern stars Arjen Robben, Mario Gotze, Franck Ribery, David Alaba, Juan Bernat and Mehdi Benatia.
As had been the case with the fixtures of the Bianconeri’s Group D rivals, fans will be able to check in at Juventus.com or on the **club’s official app** on Saturday evening for a full report of the action from the HDI Arena.
