Juventus vs Barcelona - Paulo Dybala confident Juventus can overcome Barcelona

Posted Monday, April 10, 2017 by PA

Juventus forward Paulo Dybala has warned Champions League quarter-final opponents Barcelona that his side are in their best spell of the season.

The Italian champions head into Tuesday's first leg at Juventus Stadium boasting a six-point lead at the top of Serie A and having last week reached the final of the Coppa Italia after beating Napoli 5-4 on aggregate.

Juve were defeated 3-2 in the second leg in Naples last Wednesday but otherwise have not tasted defeat in any competition in the last three months, and Dybala believes they are in a great place heading into the final weeks of the season.

He also insists they are in better form than Barcelona, whose bid to retain their LaLiga title suffered a setback on Saturday as they lost 2-0 at Malaga.

Dybala told Spanish newspaper Marca: "I think we're coming into the tie in the best manner. We're better than them.

"We're in the best moment of the season. That's how I see it after knocking Napoli out of the cup and the league wins against Chievo and Sampdoria.

"I'm sure Barcelona will want a response to the defeat against Malaga. But that's fine, at home we are a very strong team."

Juve, who lost 3-1 to Barca in the 2015 Champions League final, are unbeaten in 21 European games at the Juventus Stadium and have won 32 successive league matches in front of their own fans - keeping 21 clean sheets in the process.

However, Massimiliano Allegri's side will be more than aware that even a big win on Tuesday night might not be enough to secure a semi-final spot, evidenced by Barca's stunning performance in the previous round.

On that occasion Barca recorded one of the greatest comebacks in football history when they overturned a 4-0 first-leg deficit against Paris St Germain to progress to the last eight 6-5 on aggregate.

Dybala insists his side cannot fear a repeat of the same thing happening to them.

He said: "We must not be afraid of anything. Respect yes, but not fear.

"We're in the best moment to face Barcelona. They recovered against PSG, but PSG didn't play that game like they should have. The 6-1 (second-leg score at the Nou Camp) serves as a lesson to us."

Juve will be without winger Marko Pjaca as he will miss the rest of the season after suffering knee ligament damage while on Croatia duty.

Barca, meanwhile, are missing midfield lynchpin Sergio Busquets through suspension while Arda Turan, Aleix Vidal and Rafinha are all injured.

Luis Enrique's men head to Turin still in contention for a trophy treble this season, although their league hopes took a hit at the weekend as they surprisingly lost at Malaga when a win would have seen them replace Real Madrid in top spot.

As things stand, Barca are three points behind Real having also played a game more, leaving the destiny of the title firmly in the capital club's hands.

Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was quick to turn his focus to Europe, though, saying on Twitter: "We reflect on our mistakes from the last match and now with positive energy we go to Turin!".