Juventus will face a daunting task as they look to overcome a 0-2 deficit in the 2nd leg against Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid picked up a very impressive 2-0 win in the 1st leg with 2 late goals which has put them in a fantastic position in the 2nd leg as not only did they win but also kept Juventus away from an away goal
Juventus are coming into this game on a decent run of form. Ever since the 1st leg defeat, Juve have bounced back with 3 straight wins in the league including a 1-2 away win at Napoli to inflict them their first home defeat of the season and most recently Juventus beat Udinese 4-1 so coming into this game Juventus should feel like they can turn this around.
Atletico Madrid are playing exceptional football, they have won 5 straight games and kept 5 clean sheets meaning they haven’t conceded in this winning streak. With this defensive form, Atletico are going to feel confident that they can neutralise the Juventus attack and hold on to the lead to advance to the Quarters. Atletico arguably do have the best defense in the world which means when they take the lead they very rarely surrender it.
Juventus have been showing tremendous form at home all season long. They have especially played well recently there going unbeaten in 10 winning 9 of those games in front of their fans. Expect Juventus fans to put on a fantastic atmosphere but whether that’ll be enough to overcome the deficit is very doubtful.
Atletico haven’t been all that great away from home this season only winning 7 games of 18. However, recently they won on 3 of their last 4 travels. Atletico have mostly been drawing their away games. Even with this average/poor away record, we can anticipate Atletico to be tough to beat, they have only lost 3 away games at the end of the day this season which proves that they may not win a lot, but they also don’t lose a lot on their travels.
The man to watch for Juventus is clearly Cristiano Ronaldo. The man has had many historical moments in Champions League knockouts (19 goals in last 19 games in 2 leg ties) especially in recent years with his incredible performances on this stage. He may have struggled with Juve so far in Juve only scoring 1 European goal in 6 games, but never count out one of the best players in the world. If someone can get this job done for Juventus, it’s Ronaldo!
With Godin likely out, Gimenez, Savic and Oblak are the key players for Atletico assuming Godin is out. With Atletico needing to protect the lead, these three will especially have to put in a performance to hold onto the lead. Antoine Griezmann is the man going forward as he’s yet again their top scorer and has a history of scoring big goals and if someone was to score for Atletico, he is the likeliest to do so which could be an absolutely crucial goal.
Atletico have lately had an advantage over Juventus in their meetings. They faced off 3 times in the last 5 years and Atletico have a 2W 1D 0L record against them while keeping clean sheets in all 3 meetings against Juventus in these games. Atletico have also had a great history against Italian sides under Diego Simeone as they’re yet to lose to an Italian side under him with a 5W 2D 0L record keeping 6 clean sheets.
Juventus are tipped as bookies favourites to win in 90 mins at 1.72 whereas Atletico are the underdogs at 5.65 with Draw offered at 3.75. However, because Atletico lead 2-0 on aggregate, they are the ultimate favourites to advance at 1.25 while Juventus are a long shot at 3.75 to advance. An Atletico away goal would pretty much kill of the tie as Juve would need to score 4+ in that instance.
Team News
Juventus: Juan Cuadrado, Douglas Costa and Sami Khedira are all likely to be out for Juventus. Everyone else are expected to be available.
Atletico Madrid: Diego Godin is a doubt to play, Thomas and Costa are suspended while Filipe Luis and Lucas Hernandez are also expected to be out. That is a lot of key player out for Atletico and could be give a lifeline for their opponents considering that Atletico won’t be at full strength.
Betting Stats (UCL Based)
Juventus have covered 33.3% of their total goal overs at home in UCL this season (1-1-1).
Juventus have covered 33.3% of their total 1st half goal overs at home in UCL this season (1-2).
Juventus average 1.67 bookings per game at Home in UCL this season (5 bookings in 3 games).
Paulo Dybala is Juventus top scorer at home in UCL this season with 3 home goals out of Juve’s total 5. Ronaldo and Mandzukic have the other 2 goals.
Juventus have covered 33.3% of their Handicaps at home in UCL this season (1-2).
Juventus have covered 33.3% of their 1st half Handicaps at home in UCL this season (1-2).
Atletico Madrid have covered 66.7% of their total goal overs away from home in UCL this season (2-1).
Atletico Madrid have covered 33.3% of their total 1st half goal overs away from home in UCL this season (1-1-1).
Atletico average 3.33 bookings per game away from home in UCL this season (10 bookings in 3 games).
Atletico don’t have a top scorer away from home in UCL this season as Gimenez and Costa are the only scorers with 1 away European goal each. With Costa out, Gimenez is the only available player to have an away goal for Madrid in UCL this season. Griezmann is yet to score away from home in Europe with all of his goals coming at home in the competition.
Atletico Madrid have covered 33.3% of their Handicaps away from home in UCL this season (1-2).
Atletico Madrid have covered 33.3% of their 1st half Handicaps away from home in UCL this season (1-2).
KICK OFF – 12th March 2019 – 8pm UK Time
