Tévez eager to end barren run against Madrid

Juventus forward Carlos Tévez knows Tuesday would be a great day to end a four-year barren spell in front of goal in the UEFA Champions League, with his side needing a win at home against Real Madrid CF to get their Group B campaign on track.

The Argentinian international has not scored in Europe's top club competition since 7 April 2009, when he netted for Manchester United FC in a 2-2 home draw with FC Porto, and with his current team third in Group B, seven points behind section leaders Madrid, the 29-year-old would love to make his mark in Turin. "Let's hope so," he said at Monday's pre-match media conference. "I really hadn't realised it was so long since I last scored. If I haven't scored for four years, then let's hope that changes tomorrow."

UEFA Champions League goalscoring has proved less of a problem for Tévez's former Old Trafford colleague Cristiano Ronaldo, who comes to Juventus Stadium with seven goals since the start of the group stage – more than any other player in this season's competition. "We know the potential of Cristiano Ronaldo, who's a great player, but we've got to do our job to ensure he can't be at his best," said Tévez, who left United for Manchester City FC in 2009. "Ronaldo is a phenomenal player, but I don't envy him," he added.

With a close battle expected for the top two places in the pool, and Galatasaray AŞ eager to build on their 3-1 home victory over FC København last time out, Juventus can ill afford to focus on individual battles when Madrid call. Carlo Ancelotti's side would be certain of reaching the last 16 with a win on Tuesday, and while they beat Juve 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on matchday three, Tévez knows a change of scenery could make a difference. Nevertheless the final result is very much down to him and his team-mates.

"I expect a tough game, like at the Bernabéu, but we'll see," he said. "We've got to see what happens on the pitch. Sure, the fans will be behind us all the way and they are a great help to us, but they aren't out there playing. On the field, it's us players who must play like we did in Madrid.

"Real Madrid are strong – there's no doubt about it – but I have to look at our next three games and I think they are all like finals, not just this one; we've got to win all three. This game is like a final and we've got to play it like that. I hope it will be a brilliant game for everybody."