Three-Card Trick

| Deadly threesome of Messi, Suárez, Neymar versus dependable last line of Chiellini, Bonucci, Evra

JUVENTUS will have to hatch a plan to tame Barcelona’s attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar ahead of the Champions League final in Berlin on Saturday.

The trio might seem unstoppable, but man-to-man marking is not the way to do it to keep them in check, according to Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini, who’ll not be given orders to keep close to Suárez — the man who bit him in last year’s Brazil World Cup — or either of his partners in Barca’s formidable frontline.

“You just can’t man-mark Messi, Neymar and Suárez,” Chiellini said. “The only way of stopping them is by defending as a team.

“They may seem unstoppable, but we’re going to study the game well. It’s not only about them, but about a great side who manage to get their forwards into positions to hurt you a NAIL-BITING STUFF: The Barcelona trio may seem unstoppable, but man-to-man marking is not the way to go, according to Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini, above left, who will not be given orders to keep close to Luis Suarez — the man who bit him in last year’s World Cup — or either of his partners better on the night and lucky, too.”

The lanky goalkeeper believes his side are clear underdogs, but is hoping the Old Lady will ride their current wave of optimism all the way.

“Clearly on paper it’s difficult, but we have what it takes to play this the best way,” he said. “There is so much pride in our souls for everything we have done this season.”

They say offence wins games, but defence wins championships and that maxim will be put to the test as both sides possess capable to outstanding offences and marvellous defences.

The expected back four for Barca includes Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Dani Alves and Javier Mascherano. Jeremy Mathieu could get a shot to provide the Catalans with more stability, but that would require either Alves or Mascherano to sit out. That is highly unlikely. Barcelona’s defence this year has been dependable and mobile. Alves and Alba are two of the most dangerous wing-backs in the world when it comes to attacking as they have great speed (especially Alba) coupled with intelligent offensive instincts.

Coach Luis Enrique’s side has improved at providing better cover this season, as evidenced by the tremendous defence record in La Liga and the Champions League thus far.

However, as Bayern Munich showed, a few elite players can find the holes in Barcelona’s often porous defence and really make the team pay.

Pique is having a bounce-back year after a number of poor campaigns, but he is still a slow player that can be outraced by the best of them. Look for Tevez to take him to task.

Pique does, however, provide a great deal of offensive, scoring five goals this year and providing the team with a threat on setpieces.

The Argentina international Mascherano is strong at the back, but is far from his best as a centre back.

Judging from his ideas against Real, Allegri is likely to use a 4-3-1-2, meaning that his defence will feature Chiellini, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Leonardo Bonucci and Patrice Evra. With Andrea Barzagli injured, this back four becomes an even greater certainty.

This back four provide the Old Lady of Turin with tremendous versatility on both sides of the ball. Bonucci and Chiellini are stalwarts in the back, providing strong coverage in the air. Lichtsteiner and Evra meanwhile are strong at the back, but also effective at moving the ball up the pitch and creating offence.

This is something that Barcelona do not always have, especially with theircentral midfield trio playing centrally. Throw in Alba and Alves’ propensity for moving forward and you have a lot of space for Evra and Lichtsteiner to occupy on the flanks in attack. — Sports desk with goal.com, espn.co.uk and latinpost.com CONTRASTING STYLES: The final will showcase the jinking genius of Lionel Messi, above, and the languid elegance of Andrea Pirlo

Champions League puts you up against best players and the atmosphere’s unique Clearly on paper it’s difficult, but we have what it takes to play this the best way. There is so much pride in our souls