Prediction: Juventus to win 1-0
Best Odds: 9/1
PSV and Juventus will lock horns with each other in the UEFA Champions League this week. The second leg of the Knockout Round Playoff tie will be held at the Philips Stadion and is scheduled to kick off at 8pm UK time on Wednesday. The first leg of the tie was held in Turin last weekend and ended in a 2-1 win for Juventus.
PSV
PSV are one of the biggest clubs in the Netherlands who regularly challenge for the Eredivisie title and also feature in Europe’s premier club competition, including the UEFA Champions League. Peter Bosz’s side became the champions of the Netherlands last season, and they are in a very good position to retain their title this campaign.
Rood-witten are second in the Eredivisie table at the moment with 52 points from 23 matches, two points behind leaders Ajax. PSV also did relatively well in the League Stage of the UEFA Champions League and will still have hopes of get
PSV will head into the UEFA Champions League game against Juventus this week on the back of a 2-2 draw with FC Utrecht at the Philips Stadion. It came after a 2-1 victory over PSV at Juventus Stadium in the UEFA Champions League which followed a 1-1 draw with Willem II in front of their fans in the league.
Team News:
PSV are likely to line up in a 4-3-3 formation against Juventus. Walter Benitez will be in goal for the Dutch club. Richard Ledezma, Ryan Flamingo, Armando Obispo and Mauro Junior will be the four defenders. Joey Veerman, Guus Til and Jerdy Schouten will be the three midfielders. Johan Bakayoko, Luuk de Jong and Ivan Perisic will be the three forwards.
Juventus
Juventus are one of the biggest clubs in Italy who regularly challenge for the Serie A title and compete in major European club competitions, such as the UEFA Champions League. The Bianconeri finished third in the Serie A table last season and were aiming to do better this time around, but things have not been great for them.
Thiago Motta’s side are fourth in the Serie A table at the moment with 46 points from 25 matches. Juventus also failed to make a huge splash in the Champions League and now have to go through the playoffs to get to the Round of 16.
Juventus will head into the UEFA Champions League game against PSV on the back of a 1-0 win against Inter Milan at Juventus Stadium in Serie A. It came after a 2-1 victory over PSV in Turin in the UEFA Champions League which followed a 2-1 win against Como away from home in Serie A.
Team News:
Juventus are likely to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Michele Di Gregoria will be in goal for the Bianconeri. Timothy Weah, Federico Gatti, Renato Veiga and Nicolo Savona will be the four defenders. Teun Koopmeiners and Khephren Thuram will be the two holding midfielders. Francisco Conceicao, Weston McKennie and Nicolás Gonzalez will be the three attacking midfielders. Randal Kolo Muani will lead the line for Juventus.
Key Factors to Consider
- PSV have remained unbeaten in their last 12 home matches in major European competitions (7W, 5D), winning their last three.
- Juventus have always progressed in their last 20 Champions Cup/Champions League knockout phase double-headers after winning the first leg, including all 11 times in the Champions League (since 1992).
- Thanks to Francisco Conceicao (23) and Kenan Yildiz (20), this is the first Champions League season in which two Juventus players have completed at least 20 successful dribbles since the 2014-15 season
- 21% of Manuel Locatelli’s passes in this season’s Champions League have been line-breaking passes, the highest percentage for a player this campaign (min. 500 minutes played).
- Juventus have won both matches against PSV in this season’s UEFA Champions League.
Conclusion
Having won the first leg in Turin, Juventus will head into the second leg as favourites. It is not going to be easy for the Italian giants, but the Bianconeri should get the job done in the end.
Prediction: Juventus to win 1-0
Best Odds: 9/1
Jamie Jones
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