pesowin Juventus Vs Benfica: Dusan Vlahovic Available UCL Action But Thiago Motta To Decide On Starting Role

Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic

Dusan Vlahovic is available for Juventus' final Champions League first phase game at home to Benficapesowin, but head coach Thiago Motta has yet to decide if he will start. (More Football News)

Vlahovic, who was benched for two straight games due to fitness issues, came on as a late substitute in Juve's 2-1 loss at Napoli on Saturday but is ready to start on Wednesday if needed.

"Dusan is fine and tomorrow he is part of the group. We will see if he will play from the start or during the match. As a team we have our way of playing; we want to cause problems for the opponent with quality," Motta said at his pre-match news conference on Tuesday.

"Dusan has played a lot so far, even when he wasn't at his best. He has done it and will continue to do so. In the Champions League he has already scored four goals. He is part of the group and is fine. We will see tomorrow if he will play."

The Serbia international has been linked with a January move to either Chelsea or Arsenal in Italian media reports.

Defender Andrea Cambiaso, meanwhile, played against Napoli but his ankle issue has resurfaced and the 24-year-old will be sidelined.

"He will not be available. He still has some problems with his ankle and at the moment he does not feel 100%. He preferred to take some time to heal everything," Motta said.

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Motta added that there were no other concerns during training and midfielder Douglas Luiz, who has dealt with multiple injuries since October, will also be available to start on Wednesday as "he deserves it".

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China, meanwhile, have experienced a rollercoaster of results. After a demoralizing 0-3 defeat to India, they bounced back with a 4-2 victory over Malaysia. However, their momentum was short-lived as they faced another loss, this time 2-3 against South Korea.

Juve, who have won only once in their last five matches in the Champions League, are 17th in the standings and already assured of at least a play-off spot.

"Our need is to always win. To get to victories you need a lot of daily work. Tomorrow we play in the Champions League but for us all the matches are important," Motta said.

Juventus have lost six of their eight previous meetings with Benfica in European competitionpesowin, only losing more times in such competitions to Real Madrid (10).