Barcelona have been warned that Juventus are “better than them” as they prepare for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night.
The confidence of the Italian champions could not be higher heading into the first leg at Juventus Stadium and they are 8/5 to secure a lead to take to Spain for the return match.
Juve boast a six-point lead at the top of Serie A and last week reached the final of the Coppa Italia after beating Napoli 5-4 on aggregate.
They 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.
Barcelona, on the other hand, suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Malaga in LaLiga at the weekend yet they are the 51/100 favourites to progress to the last four, with Juve 29/20 to go through.
The Italians are paying no attention to the odds though and forward Paulo Dybala believes they are in their best spell of the season heading into the final few weeks of the campaign.
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.
They are 11/5 to shut out Barcelona on Tuesday night and 18/5 for victory without conceding an away goal.
However, Massimiliano Allegri's side will be more than aware that even a big win in the first leg 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 and they are 14/5 to win the Champions League.
The match sees Barca forward Luis Suarez once again go up against Giorgio Chiellini, the defender who he famously bit during the 2014 World Cup when playing for Uruguay against Italy.
Suarez received a four-month ban on that occasion and 888 are offering a number of special bets on what might happen on Tuesday night.
Suarez is 50/1 to again bite the Juventus man or 25/1 to bite anyone in the match. He is 16/1 to get a card for diving and 80/1 to receive a straight red card for a foul on Chiellini, with 75/1 on offer for the roles to be reversed.
The other quarter-final on Tuesday night sees Borussia Dortmund hosting Ligue 1 leaders Monaco at the Westfalenstadion.
The German side are the 5/9 favourites to go through, with Monaco priced up at 27/20, and Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel suggests Monaco’s odds are good value after claiming his team are slight underdogs.
Dortmund sit fourth in the Bundesliga table after suffering a 4-1 defeat at rivals Bayern Munich on Saturday and Tuchel feels Monaco's superior domestic form may give them a small advantage.
“Monaco have lots of players who impress us,” he told uefa.com. “We think they have outstanding individual talent, but they are also very compact as a team and athletically very strong.
“It's a very complete package with an outstanding coach who has a distinctive style. They have big personalities and a lot of good young players.
“It is a 50-50 game, but the momentum (is) slightly on their side. But we feel ready for this great match, to show what we can do and to win it.”
Dortmund have endured injuries to key players in recent weeks, but they could welcome back a number of first-team regulars against Monaco.
Julian Weigl and Shinji Kagawa are expected to be available, along with right-back Lukasz Piszczek, while creative midfielder Marco Reus may also be fit.
Dortmund are 33/50 to win the first leg and defender Raphael Guerreiro believes the club's supporters could play a big role in securing a positive first-leg result.
“In our stadium we have a really incredible atmosphere,” he said. “The fans will put a lot of pressure (on the visitors) and that will really help us. It is true that we have had some problems away from home, but we have had very good results at home. But we are still very stable.
“Some players have returned from injury and it will take a while for them to get back to their usual level.”
Monaco are 6/1 to emulate the side which reached the final of the competition in 2004, but midfielder Fabinho admits elimination would “not be a disaster”.
Leonardo Jardim's side are currently three points above champions Paris St Germain in Ligue 1 and Fabinho believes winning the domestic championship is more important than progressing in the Champions League.
Monaco have not been further than the quarter-finals of Europe's premier competition since they lost 3-0 in the final to Jose Mourinho's Porto 13 years ago.
“In 2004, it was an unprecedented event for Monaco,” Fabinho told the club's official website. “It's a different time, but nothing is impossible in football. We're not the best team or the favourites, but we're going to give it our all.
“The priority is the championship, but we want to continue our way, it is a competition apart. If we are eliminated it will not be a disaster.”
Monaco's chances have not been helped by the loss of defender Djibril Sidibe, who is in hospital being treated for appendicitis, while midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, who scored the deciding goal in the last round against Manchester City, is suspended.
Fabinho insists they will continue to play the attacking football which has seen them net 88 times in 31 league games as they approach the business end of the season.
The Brazilian, who has scored eight of those goals, plus one in the European victory over City, added: “When we saw we were going to play Dortmund, we knew they were going to be very difficult opponents in their attacking play, and with the talented young players they have. In those respects, they are similar to us.
“They have an excellent team, with a bit more European experience than us, but we're going to try to stand up to them.
“The style we play is not going to change, it has got us this far, so we'll try to play the same against Dortmund.”
Both teams to score can be backed at 3/7 while Dortmund to win but concede is 17/10. Odds of 27/20 are on offer for there to be three or four goals and 2/1 for five goals or more.
