The following is a guest post by Stephen Ganavas

On the 9th of December, Juventus travelled to Seville knowing that a solitary point would be enough for them to claim top spot in Group D, and the relative safety of Pot One for the Champions League Round of Sixteen draw.

However, a bland performance from the Bianconeri and a goal from ex-Juve striker Fernando Llorente meant that Juventus were consigned to Pot Two; their troubles compounded when they drew Bayern just days later.

Then, Juventus were fifth in Serie A, and despite two scintillating wins over Manchester City in the Champions League group stage, had underperformed in key games to start the season. This included losses to Roma, Napoli, Udinese, and Sassuolo in the first two months of the season.

On the day of the draw, fans of the Old Lady could have been forgiven for giving their side very little chance of progression. From that day forward though, Juventus have won every single match – bar a 0-0 draw away at Bologna on Friday night – they have been confronted with.

This adds up to thirteen matches, including wins against Napoli, Roma, Inter, Fiorentina, and Lazio. Furthermore, Juventus have conceded just four goals in that span of thirteen games, while legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has kept clean sheets in all of his last nine games in all competitions.

Juventus’ defence has been truly extraordinary. While in recent times Giorgio Chiellini has struggled for fitness, Martin Caceres and Daniele Rugani have been worth replacements until the former injured himself earlier this month. Leonardo Bonucci has been fabulous too – his interception to prevent Gonzalo Higuain from giving Napoli the lead in last week’s Serie A clash will go down in Bianconeri folklore.

Ultimately though, the plaudits must be given to the evergreen Andrea Barzagli: the calmest head on the peninsula. Now at 34, the Italian international is still keeping pace with the world’s best attackers. Marking Higuain out of the Napoli clash last weekend was just the latest example of his class, exemplified by his incredible ability to anticipate play and position himself accordingly, meaning he rarely loses out on duels with attackers.

Meanwhile, in Bavaria, Bayern Munich’s defence continues to be crippled by injury problems. Jerome Boateng, Holger Badstuber, and Javi Martinez will all definitely miss both legs of the Champions League tie, while Mehdi Benatia is only just returning from injury, and Serdar Tasci is still recovering from a concussion sustained in his first training session at Bayern.

Both players have not played since early December, meaning Bayern manager Pep Guardiola may have to rely on the partnership of David Alaba and Joshua Kimmich that he successfully deployed in a 3-1 victory over Augsburg on the weekend.

Clearly though, Juventus’ attackers will prove to be far more of a threat. Paulo Dybala has been in imperious form since the turn of the year, but at the same time, has not been overly relied upon. This is because of the impact Simone Zaza and Alvaro Morata have had in recent weeks, proving that waiting in the wings, Juventus have plenty of attacking spark to push for a result.

Most importantly for the Old Lady though, is that ex-Bayern striker Mario Mandzukic is expected to return for the first leg on Tuesday night.

Paired with Dybala, the Croatian has proved to be an inspired acquisition for Juventus. While scoring important goals, Mandzukic also opens up the forward half for the Bianconeri drawing defenders because of his reputation, his powerful presence on the field, and his formidable goal-scoring record. It therefore comes as no surprise that his Argentine team-mate has scored most of his goals while paired with the 29-year-old.

Alaba and Kimmich, both shorter than six-foot, will have plenty of work to do dealing with the gritty and muscular 6’1” Croatian. According to Squawka statistics, Mandzukic has won 60% of headed duels he has competed in so far in the Champions League this season; a scary number for teams facing him with proper central defenders, let alone part-timers.

Both teams however, will field full-strength midfields in what looms as the most intriguing aspect of the tie. This is largely shaped by the return of Arturo Vidal to the Juventus Stadium after four trophy-laden years with the Italian side.

Three years on from when Bayern dismantled Juventus 4-0 on aggregate, there is little doubt that this fixture will be far more hotly contested; with the potential to produce a winner that two and a half months ago, not many people expected.