Juventus will entertain Real Madrid on Tuesday night at the Juventus Stadium as part of the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League tie. They secured a 3-1 victory against AC Milan on Sunday and will be confident about their chances of earning a positive result in midweek. Meanwhile, the Galacticos are also flying high at the moment and have managed to win their last five matches in all competitions.
Zinedine Zidane’s side will be the favourites to progress to the semi-finals of Europe’s premier competition. However, getting a result in Turin will be no easy task and they will need to perform at their best to give themselves the best possible chance of securing qualification to the next round.
The recent history of the fixture makes a grim reading for the home team as they have failed to win in any of their last two meetings with Los Blancos. Their most recent meeting was in the UEFA Champions League final of 2016 when Zinedine Zidane’s side earned an emphatic 4-1 victory over their Italian counterparts.
Team News
Juventus
There are no fresh injury concerns for the Bianconeri but they could be without the services of Federico Bernardeschi, Mario Mandzukic and Alex Sandro for this clash.
Real Madrid
Zinedine Zidane will have a major dilemma when selecting his team for this match. Both Gareth Bale and Isco is expected to be fit for this tie but they will be without the services of Nacho Fernandez.
Predicted Lineups
Juventus
Buffon, Barzagli, Benatia, Chiellini, Lichtsteiner, Khedira, Pjanic, Matuidi, Asamoah, Dybala, Higuain
Real Madrid
Navas, Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo, Modrić, Casemiro, Kroos, Isco, Benzema, Ronaldo.
Key Men
Juventus
The Italian side has built their recent success on the brilliant performance of their defence. All of their defenders will once again be a crucial factor in determining the fate of this contest. The duo of Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain will also be integral if they are to get a victory on the night. Both players played a major part against Tottenham Hotspur in the last round and are expected to have a similar kind of effect versus Los Blancos.
Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo will once again look to continue his majestic goal-scoring run in the UEFA Champions League after scoring 12 goals in 8 matches in this edition of Europe’s premier cup competition. A lot will also hinge on the performances of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane and whether they can stop the dangerous duo of Dybala and Higuain at the Juventus Stadium in Turin.
Odds:
Juventus win: 17/10
Draw: 9/5
Real Madrid win: 23/10
