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Juventus fate hinges on Nordsjælland tie

"If we are good, we will go through – if we aren't, amen," was the assessment of Juventus assistant coach Angelo Alessio, as FC Nordsjælland prepare for heavy weather in Turin.

Angelo Alessio feels it is sink-or-swim time for Juventus
Angelo Alessio feels it is sink-or-swim time for Juventus ©AFP/Getty Images

After nine successive draws in Europe, including their first three Group E games, Juventus assistant coach Angelo Alessio acknowledges the visit of FC Nordsjælland is "win at all costs". The Danish title holders claimed their first UEFA Champions League point against their Italian counterparts on matchday three, but coach Kasper Hjulmand thinks his side must weather a substantial storm if they are to add to that tally.

Juventus
Angelo Alessio, assistant coach 
Alessandro Matri will start tomorrow and one of Fabio Quagliarella and Sebastian Giovinco will partner him. We are happy with our forwards and their class will show. We are creating a lot and when a team create a lot, it's normal that you miss more chances as well. Nicklas Bendtner has settled in well, he played against Catania and Bologna, and we certainly expect him to improve and that he'll start scoring a few goals. [Coach] Antonio [Conte] selects his strikers from game to game and, for this game, he has chosen Matri. It's not an insult to the other attackers.

Of course, we have to win to have hope of going through. If we are good, we will go through – if we aren't, amen. The team are creating chances, lots of them, but at the moment, particularly the attackers need to start scoring more frequently. We want to go through, but we have to grow. We have lots of debutants in this competition and we have to win at all costs, but let's not forget where we have come from.

Weekend result
Saturday: Juventus 1-3 FC Internazionale Milano (Vidal 1; Milito 59pen 75, Palacio 89)
Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner (Cáceres 38, Quagliarella 78), Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah; Vučinić (Bendtner 46), Giovinco.

• The Bianconeri's 49-game unbeaten run in Serie A, since a 1-0 defeat at Parma FC on 15 May 2011, came to an end against Inter despite Arturo Vidal's opener inside 30 seconds.

Team news
Mirko Vučinić misses out with a knock to his left calf that forced him off at half-time against Inter, while Simone Pepe is also absent with a calf injury.

Nordsjælland
Kasper Hjulmand, coach 
We saw their game on Saturday and noticed that they gave the ball away a lot in midfield, and we saw how we could cause them problems. Juve are not a side who concede much and we are going to have to make the most of the few chances we get. Of course, Juve are going to be very aggressive – they are at home and will put us under pressure from the start, so we are going to have to cling on to begin with and then, over the course of the game, we will have chances to score.

They rotate their side a lot, which is common in Italy. We have analysed all of their strikers and will be ready for whoever plays in attack. It is a big match but we are well prepared for it. Even if we lose, there is still a lot we can learn.

Weekend result
Saturday: SønderjyskE 1-2 Nordsjælland (Bechmann 33; Nordstrand 39, Beckmann 72)
Hansen; Parkhurst, Okore, Runje, Mtiliga; Adu, Christensen; Nordstrand (Laudrup 69) Lorentzen, John (Gundelach 83); Beckmann (Issah 85).

• Nordsjælland came from behind to record only their fourth away win in all competitions this season, though they remain four points adrift of Danish Super League leaders FC København.

Team news
Captain Nicolai Stokholm was unavailable at the weekend because of a calf injury, but appeared at the pre-match press conference, where there was no mention of any other injured players.

Match fact
Juve have now drawn their last nine games in UEFA competition, having registered six draws in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage.