Juventus were not punished for the 2-2 draw with Cesena, but the Bianconeri will want to return to winning ways as quickly as possible.

Atalanta will have something to prove as well having suffered a heavy defeat to Inter at their Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia in Bergamo last time out.

Serie A holders Juventus have suffered quite a few slip-ups since the turn of the year, but they were fortunate not to have Roma take advantage of their errors.

As a result, the Bianconeri remain seven points clear at the league summit and it is clear the coveted trophy is theirs to lose.

This is a perfect scenario for Juventus as they can now fully focus on their Champions League campaign and attempt to prove they have what it takes to mix it up with the best of them in Europe.

But, before the Tuesday’s clash with Borussia Dortmund, the Bianconeri will have to negotiate the home tie against Atalanta, where they are 1.65 (13/20) for a half-time/full-time win.

Coach Max Allegri will be tempted to rest some of his star players, with Andrea Pirlo, Leonardo Bonucci and Patrice Evra all expected to miss out.

Kwadwo Asamoah and Romulo are both out injured, but top scorer Carlos Tevez is back from suspension and Martin Caceres and Alessandro Matri return as well.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-1-2): Buffon – Caceres, Barzagli, Chiellini, Padoin – Pogba, Pereyra, Vidal – Marchisio – Tevez, Morata.

This is clearly a bad time to slip into the danger zone for the first time this season, although it is never a good time to be in and around the bottom three.

Atalanta’s problems started just few weeks back, with the Coppa Italia loss to Fiorentina followed by three defeats in next four league games.

And while Oribici beat Cagliari at home, they were powerless to avoid defeats to Verona, Fiorentina and Inter, and now sit mere three points above the relegation zone.

Problems continue to mount for coach Stefano Colantuono, who has a number of key men unavailable ahead of the Juventus clash.

This is probably one of the reasons why he is expected to deploy a defence-minded formation with two banks of four trying to protect keeper Marco Sportiello.

Yohan Benalouane, Carlos Carmona and Mauricio Pinilla are all banned, whilst Marcelo Estigarribia, Giuseppe Biava, Maxi Moralez, Niccolo Cherubin and Cristian Raimondi are out injured.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Sportiello – Bellini, Masiello, Stendardo, Drame – Zapacosta, Cigarini, Migliaccio, Emanuelson – Gomez, Denis.