Juventus will be looking for revenge but also to secure qualification from Champions League Group D when they host mighty Barcelona at Allianz Stadium in Turin on Wendesday. Barcelona won the reverse fixture 3-0 to get their own revenge after the Bianconeri knocked them out in the Champions League quarter-finals last season after a 3-0 home win and a goalless draw at Camp Nou. Barcelona have not beaten Juventus in Turin since 1991, when they earned a 1-0 victory in the Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals.
Juevntus are in a risky position in Group D following their 1-1 draw at Sporting last time out, if they lose against Barcelona they might find the Portuguese side tied with them on seven points before the last match of the group stage. Their form is not near what was expected of them as last weekend they lost 3-2 at Sampdoria in Serie A and drifted four points behind leaders Napoli. However, head coach Massimiliano Allegri rested quite a few key players at the weekend: Gianluigi Buffon, Blaise Matuidi, Mattia De Sciglio, Alex Sandro and Paulo Dybala. Defenders Benedikt Howedes and Mehdi Benatia remain injured.
Barcelona need a draw to secure qualification to the first knockout round and that result would also ensure their top spot in the group table. Last time out they were held to a surprising draw at Olympiakos Piraeus, otherwise their qualification would have been already secured. Last weekend they won 3-0 at Leganes to secure their fourth consecutive LaLiga win and also to extend their unbeaten streak to 12 league matches. Rafinha, Ousmane Dembele, Javier Mascherano and Sergi Roberto are injured and will miss out.
Probable line-ups:
Juventus: Buffon - De Sciglio, Barzagli, Chiellini, Sandro - Pjanic, Matuidi - Cuadrado, Dybala, Costa - Higuain
Barcelona: Ter Stegen - Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba - Alcacer, Paulinho, Busquets, Iniesta - Messi, Suarez
My prediction: 2-2 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Juventus win - 3.00
Draw - 3.39
Barcelona win - 2.5
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Comments (1)
sharpe
11/22/17, 10:11:43 PM
0-0 draw in the end which probably is not a bad result for both teams. That score increases Juventus chances of qualification and Barcelona would not have any issues...
0-0 draw in the end which probably is not a bad result for both teams. That score increases Juventus chances of qualification and Barcelona would not have any issues to go trough. Sporting still have their chances but they have to win in Barcelona and hope Juventus wont win away to Olympiakos which is pretty tough to believe.
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