7M INSIGHT - Juventus VS Barcelona

The wait for Champions League is finally over! We have seen the major leagues in full swing over the last few weeks with the addition of one international break. Now the football fans are going to indulge themselves in mid-week frenzy as well in UCL fixture.

Fortunately, we are in for a big clash first off with Barcelona hosting Juventus on Camp Nou. Last season, the Spanish giants were knocked out of the Champions League as the Italian champions held out for an away 0-0 draw to reach the semi-finals with an impressive 3-0 aggregate win, even though Barca had overcome a 4-0 first leg deficit against French tycoons Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16 with a dramatic 6-1 win back on home soil. This season, they met early after the draw in Grimaldi Forum of Monaco with Olympiakos Piraeus and Sporting Clube de Portugal in Group D.

It is crystal clear that the Greece and Portugal clubs are so much weaker than those two giants, so the top 2 spots were locked actually. In order to get the advantage of winning the group, this game is crucial for both sides. Nonetheless, Barcelona possess the extra eager with a vengeance set in mind.

THE SEASON SO FAR

These two teams had been through a different summer. Juventus landed most of their transfer targets in Douglas Costa, Blaise Matuidi, Federico Bernardeschi and Benedikt Howedes. On the other hand, Barcelona failed to sign any of their major targets, such as Philippe Coutinho and Angel Di Maria. Moreover, they even lost Neymar to PSG. What makes the matter worse is that they got defeated by arch rivals Real Madrid with a shameful 5-1 aggregate loss in Supercopa de Espana.

Entering the 2017/18 season though, both squads have been smooth sailing so far. The Turin team are the dominant force in Italy for many seasons, and their opponents are mediocre in the last three rounds, so nothing surprise about their maximum points. Although you may put the same argument on the Catalan side, Real Madrid did only get one win and two draws under the belt. It seems like the secondary choices of Ousmane Dembele, Paulinho, Nelson Semedo and Gerard Deulofeu make up for Neymar’s departure.

KEY PLAYERS

It goes without saying that Lionel Messi is still the captain of Barcelona Armada, and all the more so when the Brazilian striker is no longer here. The Argentine hero pulled out a hat-trick against Espanyol to take his tally to five goals in only three league games. He scored 48 goals last season, and 11 of those came in just nine Champions League appearances. If there is any avenging feeling in the squad, Messi will be the first-choice executor.

Juventus displaying a great offense so far with ten league goals, but there is some defensive concerns within the Italian side. The biggest change has been the sale of Leonardo Bonucci to AC Milan, and with Giorgio Chiellini out injured, they could be vulnerable under Barcelona attack. Therefore, Gianluigi Buffon comes in even more important for his team-mates. New goalie Wojciech Szczesny went in goal for Juventus on Saturday, which gave the 39-year-old some much-needed resting time. We will see whether the Juventus defense can cast its magic under the command of their beloved captain once again.

TIPS FOR THE GAME

Barcelona and Juventus have each won two, drawn two, and lost two of their six previous encounters. Besides, both teams haven't really got tested in the league yet with three wins out of three games. However, Barcelona have won 94% of their last 16 home games in the Champions League and haven't failed to win a home group game since 2012.

Another fact is that Barca's injured players are not so important, such as Sergi Roberto, Arda Turan and Rafinha, while Juventus missing players from the back, midfield and front line with Giorgio Chiellini, Claudio Marchisio, Sami Khedira, Marko Pjaca and Mario Mandzukic.

William Hill set the odds at 1-3-4 in 1x2 Odds, and the AH line of this game is the hosts (-0.75), so we are going for Barcelona winning the game as well as in AH.

(7M/Russell)