Serie A champions Juventus can secure their qualification to the next round in the UEFA Champions League with a group match to spare, but they need to avoid defeat against LaLiga side Valencia at Allianz Stadium in Turin on Tuesday. The Bianconeri won the reverse fixture 2-0 in September thanks to a double from Miralem Pjanic, and that was the first ever direct meeting between the two sides. Valencia have won just 7 of their 23 European matches against Italian sides, and just two out of eleven away from home, while Juventus have triumphed on 21 occasions out of 59 matches against Spanish teams.
Juventus had been dominating proceedings in UEFA Champions League Group H after having won their first three matches, but last time out they suffered a surprising 2-1 defeat at home against Jose Mourinho's Manchester United. The Bianconeri are still at the top of the group table, but another slip-up could cost them dearly, as Valencia are four points behind and Manchester United just two points away. They did recover from that defeat with back-to-back 2-0 victories in Serie A, first at AC Milan before the international break and then over Spal last weekend. Emre Can and Sami Khedira are injured, while Federico Bernardeschi has a chance to recover in time for Tuesday's game.
Valencia are undefeated in their last three matches in this Champions League, but they have won just one out of four games so far and find themselves in a do or die situation at the moment. Victory in Turin seems unlikely, but a draw might keep them in with a chance for second place, if Manchester United won't be able to win against Young Boys in the other match of the evening. Last time out Valencia managed to secure a 3-1 home victory over Young Boys, while last weekend they defeated Rayo Vallecano 3-0 in LaLiga. Denis Cheryshev and Cristiano Piccini are the only injury doubts for the away side.
Probable line-ups:
Juventus: Szczesny - Cancelo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Sandro - Cuadrado, Bentancur, Pjanic, Matuidi - Ronaldo, Dybala
Valencia: Neto - Wass, Paulista, Garay, Gaya - Soler, Parejo, Kondogbia, Guedes - Moreno, Batshuayi
My prediction: Juventus to win 1-0, the Bianconeri will be determined to secure their passage to the next round.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Juventus win - 1.40
Draw - 5.00
Valencia win - 9.00
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Comments (1)
sharpe
11/27/18, 11:11:03 AM
Of course we couldn't expect another failure from the Italian champions after the slip against United...Juventus dominated that group before that and I think they...
Of course we couldn't expect another failure from the Italian champions after the slip against United...Juventus dominated that group before that and I think they would make enough tonight to assure themselves a rest day in the last round of the group stage. Johnny goes for just 1-0...I think it would be at least 2-0...maybe even more.
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