With just over 24 hours separating us from kickoff, the excitement is about to reach its climax.

On Wednesday night, Juventus will play host for Villarreal in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16.

Following a 1-1 draw courtesy of Dusan Vlahovic and Dani Parejo, the encounter remains incredibly balanced – even though the Old Lady will have the home advantage.

On Tuesday, Manuel Locatelli joined his manager Max Allegri for the pre-match press conference.

The Italian is enjoying the first Champions League campaign of his young career, and will be eager to take his side as far as possible in the tournament.

The former Sassuolo man emphasized on the importance of hunger in order to seal the win against a tough opponent.

“We will have to be more hungry to win and so we hope to bring home the victory,” said the midfielder as reported by Calciomercato.

“‘We’ll be facing a technical team. They have been playing at high levels for many years, we will have to be ready. We have reviewed the first leg and said to ourselves that we need to improve.

“We have the stadium on our side, but we need to put on a mature performance.”

Locatelli had been playing as a deep-lying playmaker since the start of the campaign, but has turned into a more advanced position as of late while Arthur is left to fill the Regista role.

“I’m happy with what we are all doing in general, even on a personal level, I really like my new position because I can attack spaces.

“Allegri always asks us to play, to have a proactive attitude, I think we now know each other better on the pitch.

“Hearing the Champions League anthem is something different. You need to have a strong mentality.

“Arthur is a very good person, he already impressed me when I faced him in a tournament with Milan. He is a good player who I respect a lot.”