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Champions League: 4 ways Juventus can knock off Bayern Munich

By Tarek Hisham

TURIN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 25: Juventus fans show their support ahead of the UEFA Champions League Group D match between Juventus and Manchester City at the Juventus Stadium on November 25, 2015 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 25: Juventus fans show their support ahead of the UEFA Champions League Group D match between Juventus and Manchester City at the Juventus Stadium on November 25, 2015 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /
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AUGSBURG, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 14: Thomas Mueller of Bayern Munich (C) celebrates with Robert Lewandowski (9) and Douglas Costa (11) as he scores their third goal during the Bundesliga match between FC Augsburg and FC Bayern Muenchen at SGL Arena on February 14, 2016 in Augsburg, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)
AUGSBURG, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 14: Thomas Mueller of Bayern Munich (C) celebrates with Robert Lewandowski (9) and Douglas Costa (11) as he scores their third goal during the Bundesliga match between FC Augsburg and FC Bayern Muenchen at SGL Arena on February 14, 2016 in Augsburg, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

Suffocate the Bayern attack and control the pace

Speaking of vulnerabilities, this Bayern Munich side does have one true exploitable weakness. Darmstadt and Borussia Monchengladbach have shown this season in Bundesliga that when the Bayern midfield is pressed and harried they will make mistakes.

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Most teams make the mistake of giving Bayern too much respect and allow them to pass them to death in the final third. This was often the case with Pep’s Barcelona sides as they tiki-taka’d teams in to oblivion.

This Bayern team has more pace than those Barca squads but are of course missing the transcendent talent of Lionel Messi, although the likes of Arjen Robben and Douglas Costa present their own sets of problems to defenses. Even with the dangers they present in possession and with their pace, the Bayern attack can be slowed down if they are pressed and forced to make mistakes. If Gladbach can do it then so can this talented Juve side.

It would be a mistake to count out Juventus before this tie even begins, even if Bayern were not dealing with some serious injury issues. However because of the injuries and the talent present in the Italian side, an upset may very well be on the cards.

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