Serie A champions Juventus host Real Madrid in Turin for the first leg of the Champions League on Tuesday night. Both sides were made to work for their place in the final four, and many believe Real Madrid have a clear advantage in this matchup. However, this tie is evenly matched given both are capable of winning in their own backyard. The Old Lady have an impenetrable record on home soil ahead of Tuesday’s meeting that could well see them shock the holders to take a lead into the second leg, and Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas is tipping Juve to win against Real.
“I think this is a fascinating tie. Juventus will probably be cautious because they won’t want to let an away goal in, but I definitely see them scoring. I think Madrid are still too individual rather than being a great team. Ronaldo’s self-interest is affecting the team, so I’m going to go for Juventus to win this 1-0,” he said.
Atletico Madrid are the only side to take a share of the spoils from Juventus in Turin, with Massimiliano Allegri’s men having won their other four home games against Malmo, Olympiakos, Borussia Dortmund, and AS Monaco. In the Italian league, Juve have only lost two home games in the last four seasons. Their European form has not been as impressive as in the 1990s, but Allegri has turned things around in the competition this campaign.
With the league title having been secured, the club’s management and players can pin their entire focus on the Champions League dream. While Real picked up four points from Juve in the group stages of last season’s competition – en route to winning the Champions League – Allegri believes there is little between the two sides now.
“We’ve got to be conscious of what we’ve done so far and that we have a chance. (To win) you’ve got to do some fantastic things in attack and defence. I don’t think Juve against Real and Real against Juve will both finish 0-0, so we’ve got to do well particularly in attack. They are going to be two very keenly-fought games, and whoever makes the fewer mistakes will go through. It’s wide open,” he said.
With Real Madrid having dropped points in three of their last four home games in the Spanish La Liga, and Juventus having won their previous nine home games, can the Italian side knock out the holders in the Champions League semi-final?
