Antonio Conte to return to touchline for Juventus

After their midweek Champions League celebrations, Juventus resume the weekly grind of Serie A with a potentially tricky away trip to Palermo that signals coach Antonio Conte's return to the touchline.

Conte, who led Juve to the title last season, was banned at the start of the season by the Italian authorities for his role in a match-fixing affair while at his former club Siena.

Despite assistant Angelo Alessio keeping the Old Lady of Turin ticking over - Juve are top of the league and qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday - he has welcomed Conte back to the frontline. "We're happy with our qualification and the way we qualified," said Alessio. "We're also happy to welcome back Antonio Conte for Palermo."

After a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk allowed Juve to finish top of group E, defender Leonardo Bonucci said of Conte: "He's suffered a lot and we want to dedicate this to him."

As a comeback match, it appears Conte - who has always proclaimed his innocence - could not have it any easier: Palermo sit fourth from bottom of the table with few notable victories to speak of.

Yet the Sicilians, unlucky to suffer a 1-0 defeat at Inter last week, are undefeated at the Stadio Renzo Barbera since a 3-0 rout by Napoli in their league opener back in August and held AC Milan to a 2-2 draw in October.

Juve's extra incentive for what would be their 12th win in 16 games is the fact Inter and Napoli could both drop points in their late match in Milan tomorrow.