Juventus V Barcelona Preview & Prediction 28/10/2020

2020-21 UEFA Champions' League Group G preview: Juventus V Barcelona – Allianz Stadium, Turin – Wednesday, 28th October 2020 – 20:00 hrs BST

Champions League; Juventus V Barcelona Preview

All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo's recovery after having been rested a fortnight ago.

The 35-year old Portuguese and Juventus superstar who is currently under quarantine will be able to feature in his team's upcoming Champions League clash with Barcelona only if he returns with a negative result 24 hours before Wednesday's game in Turin.

In a highly-anticipated UEFA Champions' League Group G encounter, the stage is set for a possible Ronaldo-Messi rivalry as Serie A giants Juventus host Barcelona at the Allianz Arena on the night of October 28th.

While the hosts go into Wednesday's clash following a 1-1 draw against unfancied Hellas Verona, Barcelona will be coming out of 1-3 home defeat to Real Madrid in an El Classico La Liga fixture last weekend.

Juventus form guide in Serie A:

W-D-W-D-D

Barcelona form guide in La Liga:

W-W-D-L-L

Apart from Ronaldo, Juventus are beset with a few injury issues. Dutch centre-back Matthijs de Ligt is yet to start this season owing to a shoulder injury and could be sidelined for some time at least. Captain and star defender Giorgio Chiellini and left-back Alex Sandro also look doubtful.

Barcelona will still be without the services of their German regular goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and will have to do with Neto who featured in the El Classico last Saturday.

Philippe Coutinho is ruled out having picked up an injury in the defeat to Real Madrid and so is  centre-back Samuel Umtiti. Veteran defender Gerard Pique will miss out on the Allianz Arena clash owing to suspension.

Juventus are yet to come to terms under their new coach Andrea Pirlo, winning just two of their five Serie A outings so far and having drawn the remaining three.

The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo could prove to be critical, but they still have enough firepower in the likes of Alvaro Morata, Federico Chiesa and Paulo Dybala to cause problems for an erratic Barca defense.

For the visitors, Antoine Griezmann could return in place of the injured Coutinho after having to sit out of the clash against Real Madrid.

The Frechman will have the company of the teenage prodigy Ansu Fati and club talisman Lionel Messi to form a formidable trio upfront.

Youngster Ronald Araujo looks set to start, while the poor form of Sergio Busquets and Griezmann are sore points for the Catalans going into the Turin clash.

Koeman's defense will especially be weakened by the absence of Pique and Umtiti and will have to bank on teenager Sergino Dest, Clement Lenglet and Jordi Alba to hold forte.

Juventus V Barcelona Verdict

In a head-to-head between the two, Barcelona have fared better – winning 3, losing 1 and drawing 2 from the six times they have met.

Althought Pirlo's side are well below their best, both teams are even-stevens with a slight bias towards Barcelona.

Juventus probable starting XI in a 4-4-2 formation:

Wojciech Szczesny (goal), Juan Cuadrado, Leonardo Bonucci, Merih Demiral, Danilo, Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, Adrien Rabiot, Federico Chiesa, Paulo Dybala, Alvaro Morata

Barcelona probable XI in 4-4-2 formation:

Neto (goal), Sergino Dest, Ronald Araujo, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba, Francisco Trincao, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, Antoine Griezmann, Ansu Fati, Lionel Messi

Bookmaker Odds & Prediction

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All the bookmakers odds quoted are subject to change and were correct as of 27/10/2020.

• Barcelona to win: 6/4
• Juventus to win: 17/10
• Draw: 12/5

Both Teams To Score

Correct Score

• Draw 1-1: 11/2
• Barcelona 1-0: 9/1
• Barcelona 2-1: 9/1 (probable scoreline)
• Juventus 2-1: 9/1
• Juventus 1-0: 9/1
• Draw 2-2: 12/1
• Barcelona 3-1: 18/1
• Juventus 3-1: 20/1

Anytime goal scorer

• Cristiano Ronaldo: 13/10
• Lionel Messi: 13/10
• Alvaro Morata: 2/1
• Paulo Dybala: 23/10
• Paulo Dybala: 2/1
• Antoine Griezmann: 14/5

This article was first posted here