Bayern Munich midfielder Toni Kroos has said that Juventus are the strongest team in this season's Champions League after Barcelona.

The German club will host the Italian champions in the first leg of their quarter-final tie at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

"Juve are a great name in European football and of course they will be a hard and strong opponent," he told reporters on Monday. "Juve, from my point of view, are the strongest team after Barcelona. They will be very strong in defence like always.

"They are an Italian team. It would be ideal not to concede a goal. Our aim is to win the game. We want to travel to Italy with best chance to go through to the semi-finals. Against Juventus all of us must work a lot, starting from the forwards.

"Against a team like Juve the whole team must work defensively well. They have a strong midfield. So do we. Of course, we have to be extremely careful of their key players like [Andrea] Pirlo, but it will be important to establish our style of play. If we are able to do so, we will win this game."

The second leg will be played in Turin next week.