wants his side to use the Champions League game
with Sevilla as a springboard.
Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon sees Wednesday's
Champions League clash with Sevilla as an opportunity to
restore the struggling Serie A champions' confidence.
Buffon and Juve enjoyed a stunning 2014-15, winning Serie A
for the fourth straight year in a row while also lifting the Coppa
Italia and reaching the final of the Champions League, where
they lost to Barcelona.
However, it has been dreadful start to the new campaign for
Massimiliano Allegri's men, who suffered a third league defeat
of the season on Saturday with a 2-1 loss at Napoli.
Juve are 15th in Serie A on five points, 10 points adrift of top
two Fiorentina and Inter, with the high point of their campaign
coming in a 2-1 win over Manchester City in the Champions
League earlier this month.
Allegri's side pulled off an excellent comeback to claim all three
points at the Etihad Stadium, with goalkeeper Buffon producing
a string of fine saves.
And the 37-year-old is hopeful the visit of Sevilla to Turin can
provide a springboard for Juve's league form.
He told Sky Sport Italia: "The Champions League gives us an
excellent opportunity to rediscover our confidence and spark.
We need to face Sevilla with ferocity, determination and a
healthy desire to surprise."
Juve have been boosted by the return of midfielder Sami Khedira
to first-team training after he suffered a thigh injury last month.
While Khedira could feature against Sevilla, Mario Mandzukic
and Claudio Marchisio are both out with similar issues, but
Stephan Lichtsteiner is available again after recovering from
breathing problems that kept him out of the Napoli game.
Sevilla return to the scene of their first of two consecutive
Europa League triumphs with a number of players on the
sidelines.
Ever Banega has a knee problem, Sergio Escudero has a muscle
injury, Daniel Carrico and Gael Kakuta are nursing hamstring
complaints and Adil Rami (groin) is also unavailable.
The Spanish side made a strong start to the competition by
cruising to a 3-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach in their
opening Group D game but, similar to Juve, have found life
difficult in La Liga with five points from six games.
And, despite that form and the absences affecting his team,
coach Unai Emery is relishing the contest with Juve.
"Playing against Juventus is a great opportunity to show the
whole of Europe what we are capable of," Emery said following
the victory over Rayo Vallecano at the weekend.
"We're facing the vice-champions of Europe, a big team, and our
only objective is to give a good account of ourselves."
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