On Tuesday night the champions of Italy and Spain go head-to-head at the Juventus Stadium, as Juventus host Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.
This clash has the potential to be highly intriguing and both sides will fancy their chances of picking up a big result to take into the second leg at the Nou Camp.
Juventus are enjoying their usual dominant campaign in Serie A, well ahead of their rivals for the Scudetto. The Bianconeri have also enjoyed a strong Champions League campaign as well this season.
Max Allegri’s side made easy work of Porto in the last-16, winning 3-0 on aggregate against the Portuguese side. On home soil, the Italian champions are formidable and are 17 games unbeaten at home in the Champions League. However, recently they have drawn four of their last seven home games in Europe’s elite competition.
One key to this game and tie is Juventus’ defensive record. The Italian champions have kept clean sheets in six of their last eight games in the Champions League.
That defensive record will be put to the test by a Barcelona team who have scored at least two goals in 24 of their last 30 games in Europe’s elite competition. The Catalan giants have also won 23 of their last 29 games in the Champions League.
However, their form of late has not been great, especially on their travels, as Luis Enrique’s side have lost three of their last five games away from home in all competitions. Their away record in the Champions League is the same as their overall recent away record, which may be concerning heading into such a tough clash.
It will be interesting to see how Juventus approach this clash. If they can keep out Barcelona’s fearsome trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, then they will have a real chance of making the last four of the Champions League this season.