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Celtic in need of Juventus miracle

A 3-0 away win put Juventus on the verge of the quarter-finals and they are now looking to extend a three-year unbeaten home European record when Celtic FC visit.

Background: Juventus v Celtic FC ©Getty Images

As if a 3-0 first-leg cushion was not enough, Juventus will defend an unbeaten home European record that has stood for more than three years when they entertain Celtic FC in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie.

• The teams are on opposite sides again 11 years on from contesting two outstanding group stage fixtures, Juventus winning 3-2 in Turin and Celtic turning the tables in Glasgow with a 4-3 success.

• This time round, the first leg proved to be a more comfortable experience for Juve as goals from Alessandro Matri (3), Claudio Marchisio (77) and Mirko Vučinić (83) left them on the verge of a first quarter-final appearance since 2005/06 and equalled Celtic's heaviest home defeat in UEFA competition.

Previous meetings
• Celtic manager Neil Lennon and his assistant Johan Mjällby played in both those 2001 games. On 18 September in Turin, David Trezeguet's double (43, 55) gave Juve a two-goal lead, but Stiliyan Petrov pulled one back in the 67th minute and Henrik Larsson looked to have earned Celtic a point from the penalty spot with four minutes left. In the final minute, however, Nicola Amoruso struck with a penalty of his own to give Juve the spoils.

• In the reverse fixture, Alessandro Del Piero gave Juve a 19th-minute lead, but goals from Joos Valgaeren (24) and Chris Sutton (45) turned the match around. Trezeguet (51) levelled, but again Celtic responded strongly, another Larsson penalty (57) restoring their advantage before Sutton's second (64). Trezeguet (77) struck again to set up a barnstorming finish, but Celtic held on.

• Gianluigi Buffon started in Turin and was on the bench in Glasgow and is the only survivor from those games. Pavel Nedvěd, now a Juventus director, featured at Celtic Park.

• The lineups for the game at the Delle Alpi were:
Juventus: Buffon, Thuram, Montero, Pessotto (Birindelli 63), Tacchinardi, Iuliano, Davids, Zenoni, Del Piero (Amoruso 87), Trezeguet, Salas (O'Neill 69).
Celtic: Douglas, Valgaeren, Baldé, Mjällby, Lambert, Petrov, Agathe, Lennon, Thompson (Petta 58), Larsson, Sutton.

• The sides also met in the 1981/82 European Champion Clubs' Cup first round, Celtic winning 1-0 at home but Juventus went through with a 2-0 victory in the return. Celtic first-team coach Danny McGrain played in the first game.

Match background
• Juventus, whose first-leg win in Glasgow extended their unbeaten run in UEFA competition to 17 games, are in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds for the tenth time. They were last at this stage in 2008/09, when they lost 1-0 at Chelsea FC before drawing 2-2 in Turin.

• They have won six out of six against Scottish visitors, scoring 16 goals and conceding only three, keeping four clean sheets in the process. Their overall record against Scottish teams is W9 D1 L3.

• The Bianconeri's Group E home campaign began with a 1-1 draw against FC Shakhtar Donetsk before they overcame FC Nordsjælland and Chelsea 4-0 and 3-0 respectively. They drew at Chelsea (2-2) and in Denmark (1-1), while the 1-0 matchday six win in Donetsk ensured they finished top of the section.

• Juve have not been beaten in Europe since 18 March 2010, when they went down 4-1 at Fulham FC in the UEFA Europa League group stage round of 16 second leg, losing 5-4 on aggregate. Their subsequent fixtures have produced eight wins and nine draws.

• Juventus have won their last four European matches, keeping clean sheets in all of them. 

• At home the Italian champions have lost just once in 29 European fixtures, including qualifying rounds. It came on 8 December 2009 when FC Bayern München won 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Furthermore, Juve have won all 34 of the UEFA competition ties in which they triumphed in the first leg away from home, including two 3-0 successes in the first match; against AC Omonia in the 1977/78 European Cup first round (2-0 second leg) and PFC CSKA Sofia in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup first round (5-1 second leg), although in the latter tie Juve actually lost the first leg 3-2 but were subsequently awarded a 3-0 win as CSKA fielded an ineligible player.

• Indeed, only twice have they lost at home after an away victory, against Hamburger SV in the 1989/90 UEFA Cup quarter-finals (0-2 second leg, 3-2 on aggregate) and Olympiacos FC in the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup third round (1-2 second leg, 4-3 on aggregate).

• Juventus have won three and lost three of their previous penalty shoot-outs in UEFA club competition:
2-3 v AC Milan, 2002/03 UEFA Champions League final
4-2 v AFC Ajax, 1995/96 UEFA Champions League final
1-3 v Real Madrid CF, 1986/87 European Cup second round
4-2 v Argentinos Juniors, 1987 European/South American Cup final
1-4 v Widzew Łódź, 1980/81 UEFA Cup second round
3-0 v Ajax, 1977/78 European Cup quarter-final

• Celtic, competing in the round of 16 for the first time in five seasons, have failed to win in any of their previous nine visits to Italy. Overall their 20 games against Italian sides have ended W5 D7 L8 (W0 D3 L6 in Italy). The most memorable contest was the first, Celtic beating FC Internazionale Milano 2-1 in the 1966/67 European Cup final in Lisbon to become the first British club to lift the trophy.

• In last season's UEFA Europa League group stage, Celtic drew 1-1 home and away against Udinese Calcio.

• Celtic won both away games in the qualifying rounds 2-0, defeating HJK Helsinki and Helsingborgs IF. In the group stage they recorded a 3-2 success at FC Spartak Moskva, their first away victory in 21 attempts in the UEFA Champions League proper, while the matches at FC Barcelona and SL Benfica both ended in 2-1 defeats. They had won four of their five fixtures at home, drawing the other with Benfica, before their first-leg defeat.

• The Bhoys are in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds for the third time and have never reached the quarter-finals of the competition's modern incarnation. In 2006/07 they drew 0-0 at home to Milan and lost 1-0 in extra time in Italy; the following season they went down 3-2 at home to Barcelona and 1-0 in Catalonia.

• That Barcelona reverse is one of six occasions Celtic have lost the first leg at home in UEFA competition; they went down on aggregate five times. The sole exception came in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round when they turned round a 1-0 home defeat by FC Dinamo Moskva with a 2-0 away success.

• Celtic's shoot-out record in UEFA club competition is:
4-3 v FC Spartak Moskva, 2007/08 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round
4-5 v Valencia CF, 2001/02 UEFA Cup third round
4-5 v FC Internazionale Milano, 1971/72 European Cup semi-final  

Team ties
• Andrea Pirlo faced Celtic on five occasions with Milan, including both legs of the 2006/07 round of 16 tie.

• Mauricio Isla played in Udinese's 1-1 draw at Celtic last season, with Kwadwo Asamoah featuring for the Serie A side in Italy.

• Mikael Lustig's hosts Sweden lost 2-1 to an Italy team including Marchisio, Paolo De Ceglie and Sebastian Giovinco in the 2009 UEFA Under-21 European Championship group stage.

• Giorgio Chiellini scored the only goal as the senior Italian national side defeated Lustig's Sweden in a Cesena friendly on 18 November 2009.

• Victor Wanyama's brother, MacDonald Mariga, plays for FC Internazionale Milano.

• Buffon, Pirlo and Andrea Barzagli were in the Italian team that beat Scott Brown's Scotland side 2-1 in Glasgow during UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying on 17 November 2007.

• Buffon, Pirlo and Fabio Quagliarella, and Brown, were all involved when Italy won 2-0 at home to Scotland on 28 March 2007 during the same qualifying campaign.

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