This Thursday, Juventus will be hellbent on completing the job in Freiburg and reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League. The Italians have the upper hand thanks to a slim first-leg victory at home, but they still have to secure qualification on German soil.

Nevertheless, Max Allegri has some selection headaches, especially at the back, where Alex Sandro and Leonardo Bonucci are unlikely to shake off their physical issues in time.

According to ilBianconero, the Juventus manager has to choose between three players to partner with his defensive stalwarts Danilo and Gleison.

The first is Daniele Rugani, who has been a benchwarmer for the vast majority of his stint in Turin.

The second option is Federico Gatti. The former Frosinone defender occasionally featured in the starting up at the start of the season, but has been out of the picture recently.

Finally, Mattia De Sciglio could follow in the footsteps of Danilo and Alex Sandro by converting from fullback to centre-back. The Italian interpreted this role during the second half of the Old Lady’s encounter against Sampdoria last Sunday.

Juve FC say

With all due respect to De Sciglio, he just doesn’t inspire that much confidence while playing a deep role.

Between Rugani and Gatti, the latter is arguably the more promising, but the former has enough experience under the belt to slot it in such crucial contests.