Malmo FF vs Juventus preview - Tevez: We must recreate league form

Posted Tuesday, November 25, 2014 by PA

Juventus striker Carlos Tevez has urged his team-mates to recreate their Serie A form in the crunch Champions League clash at Malmo FF on Wednesday.

The Turin giants travel to Sweden in search of their first away triumph after defeats at Atletico Madrid and at Olympiacos in Group A.

Those setbacks dropped Juve to third place, level on six points with Olympiacos, who are second on goal difference.

Atletico are three points clear at the top of the pool with two games remaining.

Juve's league form has been significantly better, with the Italian champions three points clear at the top of Serie A after Saturday's 3-0 triumph at Lazio - their 10th league win in 12 games.

"Our full focus is on the game at Malmo," Tevez said to Turin based newspaper Tuttosport. "On Wednesday we must play with the same determination that we displayed against Parma and Lazio.

"If we played like we did, then it will be difficult to stop us.

"We are playing good football and we have tactically found a balance."

Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri knows that failure to win on Wednesday could prove costly for his side.

The Turin club end the group stages at home to Atletico on December 9.

"We need to get six points in our last two league games," he said. "Four may be enough, or even three, but who knows?

"Olympiacos are ahead of us in the head-to-head, but they have to get six points to qualify mathematically, so everything is still wide open.

"We'll know what we've got to do after the game against Malmo."

Malmo, who lost 2-0 in Turin in their group opener, host the Italians needing a win to revive their hopes of playing European football after the new year.

The Swedish champions lie at the foot of the standings, with one win from four games.

A victory over Juve coupled with an Atletico Madrid win over Olympiacos in the other pool game, would see Malmo join the Italians and the Greeks on six points heading into the final round of games.

"We have every possibility to take a positive result," Malmo defender Anton Tinnerholm said to the Italian media. "We want to go into the final group game still alive to continue to play in Europe.

"We will try to make life difficult for Juventus.

"I don't think they know what kind of atmosphere awaits them at the SwedBank Stadion."

The Blues warmed up for the European encounter with last week's 4-0 triumph in a friendly against Finnish champions HJK Helsinki.

Malmo coach Age Hareide will have all of his players available.

The visitors welcome back defender Patrice Evra from injury while they are without midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah, who is sidelined with a thigh problem.

Arturo Vidal is set to start and play in support of attacking pair Fernando Llorente and Tevez.