Cannavaro wants to avenge Juve loss

Fabio Cannavaro has said Real Madrid must avenge last month's Champions League defeat to Juventus when the two sides meet at the Bernabeu tonight.

The World Cup-winning Italian defender, who left Juventus two years ago, was constantly jeered by home fans in Turin when the Spanish champions lost 2-1 thanks to a stunning goal from in-form Alessandro Del Piero and a header from Amauri.

"We cannot afford to fail," 35-year-old Cannavaro said.

"We have to win one way or the other and try to qualify for the next round top of the group."

After three matches, Juve top Group H on seven points with Real on six. BATE Borisov, of Belarus, have two points and face Zenit SP who lie bottom with one.

Having lost 3-2 to third tier side Real Union in their first leg, last-32 King's Cup match on Thursday and missed the chance to join rivals Barcelona at the top of the table on Sunday, Real need to pick themselves up.

Coach Bernd Schuster may start Christoph Metzelder in defence after the German replaced Pepe during Sunday's second half against Almeria (1-1) when the Portugal defender picked up a thigh knock. Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is fit after recovering from a knee problem.

Juventus had not won in five matches heading into the victory over Real but since then have taken maximum points from three league games including Saturday's 2-0 triumph over Roma that moved them to sixth in Serie A.

Injuries continue to dog the Italian side, however, with defenders Dario Knezevic, Jonathan Zebina and Zdenek Grygera out alongside mid-fielders Christian Poulsen, Cristiano Zanetti and Hasan Salihamidzic.

Long-term injury victims Gianluigi Buffon and David Trezeguet will be missing but midfielders Claudio Marchisio and Mauro Camoranesi are back in contention.

Captain Del Piero, who played in the 1996 final when Juve won their second of two European Cups, was cautious about the trip to the Spanish capital.

"We have made a step forward but what happened recently shows us that we have to always keep our concentration high," he said.