Del Piero missing for Juventus

The late withdrawal of Alessandro del Piero from the Juventus FC party which flew to Germany to take on Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Tuesday night could prove crucial to the Italian side's ambitions of European glory this season.

Ankle injury
Already without Edgar Davids and Mark Iuliano because of suspension and Lilian Thuram because of injury, the loss of Del Piero with an ankle injury for a UEFA Champions League game which they need to win may be one absentee too many for Marcello Lippi's side.

Trezeguet doubt
Even David Trezeguet, the competition's leading goalscorer, is not 100 per cent fit for the Group D match against Leverkusen. He is suffering from inflammation of his right knee and had to leave the field before the end of last weekend's 2-2 draw with Internazionale FC. However, a medical revealed no serious damage and he is expected to recover in time to play at the BayArena.

Victory vital
Nothing short of victory will do for either side if they are to deny either of the group favourites, RC Deportivo La Coruña and Arsenal FC, a place in the quarter-finals. Juventus put four past the Germans when the two sides met in a fog-delayed game at the Delle Alpi last November with the Trezeguet-Del Piero partnership sharing three of the goals. But output in the Champions League has dried up since then, with just one goal in three games.

'It will be difficult'
The injuries could not have come at a worse time for Juventus, as they seek to keep their hopes alive in both the Champions League and Serie A. Thuram, who injured his groin in the top-of-the-table clash against Inter, is out for a month. Other injured players include Marcelo Salas and Paolo Montero. Of Del Piero, Lippi said: "I hope he'll be back again on Sunday when we play against Verona. In the Champions League you can go to the next round if you win at least one away game. So we have to do it, but it will be difficult without Thuram and Del Piero."

Ballack worry
For their part, Leverkusen will be without the suspended Boris Zivkovic and the injured Oliver Neuville. Additionally, Michael Ballack, their top scorer, has flu and is doubtful. Even so, the Germans could not have wished for a greater incentive after their mauling in Turin. "After that game, police took us the wrong way back to our hotel and they did it on purpose," said Klaus Toppmöller, Leverkusen's head coach.

Through to cup final
It was feared that their second four-goal thrashing of this second phase, by Arsenal, might have far-reaching consequences for the German side, but they have fought back strongly in domestic competition. A 2-0 win last Saturday against FC Energie Cottbus helped them maintain their one-point lead over BV Borussia Dortmund at the head of the 1. Bundesliga while the previous week they beat 1.FC Köln 3-1 to reach German Cup final, in which they will face FC Schalke 04.

'Pretty good chance'
"It would not be reasonable to think we will win the Champions League, so for us the Bundesliga comes first and the Champions League second," said Toppmöller. "But we also know we have a pretty good chance to reach the next stage in the Champions League if we beat Juve, because I expect Arsenal to beat Deportivo, and this would mean a draw at La Coruña in our last game would be enough for us to go through."

Conflicting clues
Results in this group so far have come down heavily in favour of the home team with six out of the eight games played resulting in home wins and convincing ones at that. Italian history presents somewhat conflicting clues as to the outcome of this game. While Juventus have not lost in nine meetings away to German sides since the 1975/76 season, they have not won any of their last 14 games away from home in the competition.