Fernando Llorente Juventus
Juventus striker Fernando Llorente celebrates after scoring against Udinese in the Serie A, December 1. Reuters

Juventus embark on a big few days starting with a Serie A game against Bologna on Friday night.

The Old Lady of Turin are precariously placed in the Champions League, and need a victory against Galatasaray to ensure progress into the last 16. Before that however, the reigning Italian champions pay a visit to Bologna, struggling and just about above the relegation zone at the moment.

Juve manager Antonio Conte acknowledged the big week ahead, but wants his side to focus first on the job at hand in the Serie A against Bologna.

"It's an important moment of the season and clear heads are required," Conte said. "We've got a tough encounter ahead of us against a Bologna team in decent fettle.

"I'll look to play the right side for the game and we'll have the sole objective of getting the better of our opponents and winning. There are many factors that will come into play when I'm picking my starting line-up, but I'm sure those who do feature will give me the right responses."

Juventus, who beat Udinese 1-0 last weekend for their sixth consecutive league victory, currently lead the Serie A table by three points from Roma, and with their title challengers only set to play on Saturday and Sunday, the Turin side will look to open up a sizeable gap to put the pressure back on the chasing pack.

Bologna, who are 17th with 12 points from 14 matches, one place above third from bottom Livorno, will be desperate to pick up a positive result at home. Stefano Pioli's men are unbeaten in their last two encounters, albeit both draws, and will look to extend that run to three, preferably with a victory.

"We'll have to put in a really spirited performance with lots of running, trying to play at the highest technical level possible," Pioli said. "If we use the ball well, we'll cause them some problems."

Team news: Juventus will be without midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who has been ruled out until the New Year with a knee injury. Conte is confident Paul Pogba, fresh from winning the Golden Boy award for Europe's best young player.

"Pogba can cover that role and also does a good job there. However, I believe he's best suited as one of the two supporting central midfielders, where he can express all his talents," Conte said. "I could also deploy [Arturo] Vidal or [Claudio] Marchisio in front of the defence, we'll see which option is the most appropriate depending on who we're up against."

Bologna do not have any fresh injury concerns.

Live Streaming Information and Where to Watch Live

The match is scheduled for a 1.15 am IST start with live coverage on Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD2 in India. You can also catch the action via live streaming online by clicking HERE. To catch the match in the U.S. click HERE. Viewers in the U.K. can live stream the game HERE. Middle East and North Africa viewers can click HERE.

Expected lineups: Bologna: Curci, Antonsson, Sorensen, Natali, Morleo, Krhin, Garics, Perez, Bianchi, Christodoulopoulos, Kone.

Juventus: Buffon, Chiellini, Barzagli, Bonucci, Marchisio, De Ceglie, Padoin, Pogba, Vidal, Tevez, Llorente.

Prediction: 2-0 to Juventus