Prediction and odds for the game: Juventus (13/8) v Barcelona (13/8)
We are backing the draw at odds of 12/5
When: Wednesday, 28th October 2020, Kick-off 20:00
Where: The Allianz Stadium
Two of the giants of European football go head-to-head at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday night, as Juventus host Barcelona in a potentially fascinating clash.
Juventus
It is fair to say that Andrea Pirlo’s coaching career at Juventus has got off to a slightly underwhelming start. The Bianconeri may be unbeaten in their seven competitive games this season, but three of their last five matches have finished in draws, including their last three outings in Serie A.
Sandwiched in-between draws against Crotone and Hellas Verona was a 2-0at Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League. The win means that the Italian champions have won seven of their last eight matches in Europe’s elite competition while scoring at least two goals in seven of their last nine games in the prestigious competition.
The team from Turin have also been formidable opposition on home soil in the Champions League of late, having won six of their previous seven home games in Europe’s elite competition.
Arguably, the big team news revolves around Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo, who tested positive for COVID-19. The Portuguese star is unlikely to feature, but his participation cannot be completely ruled out. Matthijs De Ligt and Giorgio Chiellini are both also expected to miss out through injury.
Barcelona
The Catalan giants head into this clash on the back of a 3-1 Clasico defeat against arch-rivals Real Madrid. The defeat means that Blaugrana have won just once in their last four games in all competitions.
However, that win came on matchday one of the Champions League, as they recorded a comfortable 5-1 home win over Ferencvaros at the Camp Nou. The win continued the Catalan giant’s decent record in the competition, as they head to Italy on the back of just one defeat in their last ten games in the competition.
However, that defeat was a memorable one, as it came in the now infamous 8-2 defeat against Bayern Munich in last season’s knockout stages. The visitors have been difficult to beat of late on their travels in the Champions League, though, losing just one of their last ten matches in the competition on their travels.
Barcelona could be without Marc-Andre ter-Stegen, Philippe Coutinho and Samuel Umtiti through injury. Centre-back Gerard Pique misses out through suspension.
Conclusion
Neither of these two teams heads into this clash in any sort of form, but Juventus have had the better start to their campaign of the pair. We backing the draw due to the recent unconvincing form of both teams. With both teams expected to miss key defensive players, we believe that this game will produce goals, so we are backing over 2.5 goals scored.
Verdict: We are backing the draw at odds of 12/5 and/or over 2.5 goals scored at odds of 4/5. (All odds are taken from Bet365).
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Who will come out on to between these two goliaths of the European game?
