Champions League: Juventus vs Barcelona preview and predictions

Champions League: Juventus vs Barcelona preview and predictions
Fans were eager to see Ronaldo and Messi taking to the field together, but it was dashed

Juventus host Barcelona at Turin as both of them look to lock on to the top place in the group. The former will be without their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo as he tested positive for Corona yet again. There’s also news that an investigation is going to be opened against him to see if he had broken safety protocols. Juventus will also be without Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and a recovering Matthijs De Ligt due to injuries. They might be forced to play with a make-shift back three or four if a youth player is promoted.

Barcelona will be without Philippe Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen due to injury. Ousmane Dembele is fit to play and might form an attacking three with Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann. Lionel Messi will especially fancy his chances against Juventus due to their injury crisis and absence of Ronaldo.

This match will also mark the instance of two former players playing against each other’s team. Arthur will play against Barcelona while Miralem Pjanic will face Juventus after having sealed a trade deal over the end of last season. Juventus is well stocked in midfield and Pjanic is challenging for Sergio Busquets position in Barcelona.

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Predicted Line-ups

Juventus: Wojciech Szczesny (GK), Danilo, Matt Demiral, Alex Sandro, Federico Bernardeschi, Arthur, Aaron Ramsey, Adrian Rabiot, Juan Cadrado, Paulo Dybala, Alvaro Morata

Barcelona: Neto (GK), Sergi Roberto, Clemenet Lenglet, Gerard Pique, Serginio Dest, Frenkie De Jong, Miralem Pjanic, Sergi Roberto, Lionel Messi, Ansu Fati, Antoine Greizmann

Match Prediction

Despite Juventus being without their key players, their bench strength is one of the best in Europe. Barcelona just lost the El Clasico to Real Madrid and will have to look to regain their confidence in this match. Juventus come of a 1-1 draw with Verona and will be seeking for a win at home. However considering Messi’s lack of form and Juventus missing their key attacker, I predict that the match will end in a 1-1 draw for the two teams.

Also Read: Premier League: Monday Report