Aiming to overtake Aston Villa in the Champions League standings with a win on Wednesday evening, two-time European champions Juventus have travelled to Birmingham burdened by a significant injury list.

First-choice striker Dusan Vlahovic has played a part in at least one goal during his last three away games in UEFA's top club competition, but after picking up a thigh problem while on international duty with Serbia, he missed Saturday's goalless draw with AC Milan.

The only other centre-forward in Thiago Motta's squad is Arkadiusz Milik, who underwent knee surgery last month and will not return to fitness until early next year, so a striker-less formation was deployed at San Siro.

As that setup proved to be toothless, Motta may bring in the versatile Timothy Weah to spearhead Juve's attack as a false nine - but his tactical tinkering tends to keep opponents guessing.

The Bianconeri are also short at the back, as Juan Cabal and defensive rock Bremer have both been struck down by ACL injuries this season, so Pierre Kalulu and Federico Gatti should pair up in central defence; Andrea Cambiaso will feature at left-back.

Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao could take up either wide role, as Nico Gonzalez is still sidelined by a thigh injury; similar issues are afflicting ex-Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz and Weston McKennie.

As a result, Khephren Thuram and Manuel Locatelli are expected to man the visitors' engine room, with Nicolo Fagioli named on the bench.

Juventus possible starting lineup: Di Gregorio; Savona, Kalulu, Gatti, Cambiaso; Locatelli, Thuram; Conceicao, Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Weah

> Click here to see how Aston Villa could line up for Wednesday's Champions League contest

Written by
Jonathan O'Shea