Serie A giant Juventus are set to miss the duo of Giorgio Chiellini and Mario Mandzukic as they play French superpowers Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League Group H game on Tuesday, according to reports.
Chiellini was absent as Juventus cruised to a victory over Udinese over the weeknd. The Italian defender missed the clash due to thigh injury. He missed the game as Juve claimed to be monitoring the situation. Former Bayern Munich star Mandzukic was left off the squad due to a “muscular strain in his right adductor region” the club confirmed this week.
Both players would not be available for the clash in France along with midfielder Claudio Marchisio as his rehabilitation for a knee injury continues. Juventus are the group leaders in Group H with four points but Lyon follow closely being just one point behind.
“At Juve, every game is vital. We are confident we can live up to expectations,” Miralem Pjanic – a former Lyon player but now at Juve said. The coach Massimiliano Allegri said: “We’re missing some key players but every good team should be able to roll with the punches and adapt.”
Lyon would be receiving the Italian side in a not-too-good form after losing 2-0 to Ligue 1 leaders Nice over the weekend. However, they are going to have a boost as Nabil Fekir and Alexandre Lacazette are set to start. Lacazette just returned from injury but is expected to lead the attack against the Italians.
“Tomorrow’s game will not just be about the Lacazette-Fekir pair. We will need to be rigorous. . We need to stick together,” Lyon coach Bruno Genesio said. The game is not easy to predict as Juve would be expecting three points and the hosts would not want an upset on home soil.