Giorgio Chiellini and Mario Mandzukic to miss Juventus trip to Barcelona but Alex Sandro returns

Giorgio Chiellini, Mario Mandzukic, Sami Khedira, Claudio Marchisio and Benedikt Höwedes are set to miss Juventus clash against Barcelona on Tuesday night (12 September) after being left out of Massimiliano Allegri's 19-man squad due to various fitness issues.

Juan Cuadrado is also suspended for the Champions League opener but Alex Sandro returns after missing the weekend's 3-0 victory over Chievo due to illness.

The Champions League runners-up eliminated Barcelona in last season's quarter final with a 3-0 aggregate victory and will visit the Nou Camp with hopes of replicating that to get their European campaign off on the right-foot.

However, Allegri faces a big challenge with a number of key players unavailable, with Chiellini, Mandzukic, Khedira, Marchisio, Höwedes and Cuadrado all failing to make the travelling squad to Barcelona.

Chiellini missed the weekend victory over Chievo after the centre-back suffered a right calf injury during the recent international break while on duty with Italy.

Meanwhile, Mandzukic made the starting line-up in the Serie A encounter but had to be replaced by Rodrigo Bentancur in the 83th minute due to an injury.

Both trained on Monday with the rest of their available teammates but Allegri has opted against rushing them back to action.

The absences of Khedira and Marchisio were expected however as Allegri already anticipated last week that the trip to Barcelona was going to come too early for the two midfielders.

"Absent from the list are Giorgio Chiellini, who is working towards a full recovery from injury, Sami Khedira and Claudio Marchisio, who were unavailable for Saturday's win against Chievo, while Benedikt Höwedes and Mario Mandzukic are also out of action," Juventus confirmed via its official website.

"German defender Höwedes, having commenced preparations with the Bianconeri later than the rest of the squad, is undergoing a personalised training regime. Meanwhile, Croatian striker Mandzukic is out of the Camp Nou clash after picking up a knock against Chievo that caused a previous tear wound, sustained on international duty against Kosovo, to flare up again."

Cuadrado will also miss the trip to Barcelona due to suspension after the Colombia international was sent off during the 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid in last year's final.

Allegri's only positive news ahead of the Champions League opener is the return of Sandro after the left-back missed the weekend's encounter through illness.