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Juventus' general manager Beppe Marotta believes Barcelona are no longer a team the Turin-based club must fear like they would have done in recent years after being drawn with the Catalans in Group D of the Champions League. Barcelona defeated the Bianconeri in the 2015 showpiece, but Marotta believes things have changed since then. His side reached the final again last year, where they were beaten by Real Madrid, and he feels now is not a bad time to face Barca. "Every group has its dangers and it's important that you are in form when you play those games, but Barcelona have weakened now that they have lost Neymar, even if they are still dangerous," he told Mediaset television. "We'll have to see how they replace him, but they are bound to have a quality team." Multiple reports on Thursday said Barcelona had reached a deal with Borussia Dortmund for Ousmane Dembele, spending €150 million of the €222m they earned from Neymar's exit. Juve will also face Olympiakos and Sporting Lisbon in the group phase, and they could go into those games with an addition to their squad, as Marotta confirmed that talks with Schalke to sign Benedikt Howedes are advancing. "We've had contact and he has a very interesting profile," he revealed. "We still need to discuss his contract with him and then with Schalke, but maybe it's a little bit more than just a hypothesis. "We already have a competitive squad for our objectives and I don't think we are going to do anything major because it only makes sense adding players who can increase the value of the squad, and we are assessing a few opportunities in defence, where we are definitely going to do something before the end of the season. "If we can find a player who can play both [full-back and centre-back] it would be better." Barcelona's general manager Pep Segura said Juventus will not be the only challenge as the club enter the competition for the first time under coach Ernesto Valverde, who previously spent three seasons in charge at Olympiakos. "Valverde and I coached Olympiakos at different times and know how competitive they are" he told Barça TV. "They won't make it easy for us, especially in their stadium. "Juventus are a top level team and Sporting Lisbon are also very worthy of our utmost respect."
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