Juventus may have won Serie A but they are on the verge of being dumped out of the Champions League in the round of 16. It was at the quarterfinal stage that the Bianconeri went out in 2018-19 at the hands of Ajax. Now, Lyon head to Turin capable of doing it in the last 16.
Lyon won the first leg between these clubs back in March, 1-0. Lucas Tousart’s 31st minute goal stood as the only strike of the game as Cristiano Ronaldo and company fired blanks.
The French side head into the game having recently played the delayed Coup de la Ligue against Paris Saint-Germain. Rudi Garcia’s team saw out a nil-nil draw after 120 minutes of football but fell to PSG on penalties.
Garcia will hope his team can find a similar dogged defensive display on Friday night in Turin. An away goal could effectively kill off the tie as Juventus would need two goals to overcome a single away goal.
Never count out Ronaldo as the forward has regularly willed his teams back from deficits in must-win fixtures. The Portuguese star has had another brilliant season with 35 goals in 45 matches. However, there can be questions asked about the rest of Juventus’s supporting cast.
Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri has lamented the injury woes the club have suffered in the second half of the season. Juventus forward Paulo Dybala is in a race to be fit for the game on Friday. Dybala suffered a thigh muscle strain but it is believed the injury isn’t as bad as first feared.
Full-backs Danilo and Mattia De Sciglio, midfielder Sami Khedira and winger Douglas Costa are all sidelined with injuries and will miss out on the remainder of the Champions League season.
Garcia has just one injury issue at the moment as Oumar Soulet is set to miss the fixture with an ACL injury. The big news for Lyon is that forward Memphis Depay is fit to play.
Depay suffered an ACL injury in the first half of the season and missed out on the first leg of the last 16. His return could be the catalyst to send Lyon through to the next round.
Juventus have more momentum going into the game due to playing regularly since Serie A’s June restart. Lyon did play last weekend and have been competing in friendlies which will help them greatly.
#UCL focus 🔛Today the Bianconeri were back on the field, as they continued their #JuveOL preparation➡️https://t.co/5YLZmJrKbL pic.twitter.com/v7T3VHgKO3— JuventusFC (#Stron9er 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆) (@juventusfcen) August 5, 2020
#UCL focus 🔛Today the Bianconeri were back on the field, as they continued their #JuveOL preparation➡️https://t.co/5YLZmJrKbL pic.twitter.com/v7T3VHgKO3
The French side merely need an away goal to heap even more pressure on Juventus. They should get that away goal forcing Juventus to score three times at the least to win.
Friday’s game should end in a stalemate as both teams score and Lyon qualify for the final eight in Portugal.