Juventus head into the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie against FC Porto 2-0 up from the first leg in Portugal. All signs point to another tough game for the Portuguese side on Tuesday night.
Juventus bounced back to winning form on Friday night with a 2-1 win over AC Milan in Serie A. The win means that Max Allegri’s team have won 11 of their last 12 games in all competitions.
The Italian giants are unbeaten in normal time in this competition in nine games and have won five of their last six games in the Champions League. A key to the Bianconeri’s good results in the Champions League has been their defensive record. The team from Turin have kept clean sheets in five of their last seven Champions League outings.
Allegri’s side also have a fine recent home record winning their last nine games at the Juventus Stadium in all competitions. However, surprisingly the Italian giants have drawn four of their last six home games in Europe’s elite competition, although they have suffered just one home defeat in their last 17 European outings on home soil.
The first leg defeat was the only game Porto have not won in their last ten outings. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are currently top of the Portuguese top-flight and have been in good form of late.
Porto have a mixed recent record in the Champions League but have lost only two of their last nine outings in the competition. They face an uphill struggle to overturn the two-goal deficit from the first leg in this one, though.
The visitor’s away record in this competition is patchy, to say the least, as they have won three of their last nine away games in Europe’s competition. That will have to become four from ten if they are to have any hope of beating the odds and making the last eight of the Champions League.