The UEFA Champions League quarter-finals get under way this week and arguably the pick of the ties is between last season’s finalists, Juventus and Real Madrid. The first leg takes place on Tuesday 3rd April at the Allianz Stadium, Turin.
Juventus have long been associated with the Champions League and have won the tournament twice in their history, the last coming back in 1995/96. Since then, Juventus have made the final five times but lost in each of them.
Real Madrid are the most successful club in the history of the Champions League having won the trophy a record total of twelve times.
Italian champions, Juventus, come into this match on the back of a crucial 3-1 win over AC Milan in the race for the Serie A title. In truth, Juventus did not play very well in the match, especially in the first half and AC Milan deserved something from the game but Juventus know how to win football matches and got the job done.
Juventus come into this match on a twenty-five match unbeaten run in all competitions. Trends show they have won twenty-one of those games, with four ending in a draw. The Old Lady have remained undefeated in their last sixteen home matches in all competitions and you must go back twenty-four games to see the last time they lost at home in the Champions League.
While Juventus are fighting on three different fronts this season, Real Madrid have just one trophy left within their grasp and that’s the Champions League.
Zinedine Zidane’s team have long been out of the title race in Spain and while that means failure, it has allowed the club to focus their attention on the latter stages of the Champions League.
Trends show Real Madrid’s form has picked up in recent weeks and they have won each of their last five matches in all competitions and have lost just one of their last thirteen. Real Madrid have defeated Getafe, Eibar, Girona and Las Palmas in La Liga but their greatest triumph came in the Champions League, beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 away from home to seal their place in the quarter-final.
Despite their problems domestically, Real Madrid are still a force to be reckoned with in Europe and they have won each of their last four games in the competition. The 5-2 aggregate win over PSG shows a team who can win the Champions League for a third time in succession.
Team news and Juventus will be without the suspended duo of Miralem Pjanic and Medhi Benatia. Federico Bernardeschi and Alex Sandro could come into contention while Mario Mandzukic remains a doubt.
Real Madrid could be without Nacho as the defender came off at Las Palmas on the weekend. Otherwise, Real Madrid should be a full strength for this game with Cristiano Ronaldo returning to the team having been rested on Saturday.
This is a massive match and Real Madrid will be keen to get at least one away goal head of the second leg. Juventus know they need to get a positive result ahead of the trip to Madrid and this could lead to an exciting game, with both teams scoring.