ATELTICO : 2 WIN, 0 DRAW, 1 DEFEAT
JUVENTUS : 2 WIN, 1 DRAW, 0 DEFEAT
PREVIOUS RESULT :
REAL SOCIEDAD 2-0 ATELTICO
FIORENTINA 0-0 JUVENTUS
Its that time of year, hopes are high with expectations even higher. The champions league story for Juventus begins once again, and it begins with a tough away trip to a familiar opponent, Atletico Madrid. Last season's encounter provided a roller coaster of emotions for Juventus & her fans, following up a morale sapping 2-0 defeat at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium with a memorable 3-0 comeback in Turin to see the Bianconeri through to the quarter finals, the question is what emotion will Juventus be providing tonight?
THE RONALDO FACTOR :
There is no I in team, but when it comes to having Ronaldo in your team 9/10 he is the man to make the difference when it matters most, especially when the opponent is Atletico Madrid. Ronaldo has scored an incredible 25 goals over 33 fixtures against Atletico Madrid, and after scoring a hat trick during the previous meeting, Atletico Madrid fans will not be looking forward to the sight of Ronaldo once again on the oppositions team.
ONE TO WATCH : João Félix
Arriving from Benfica for a transfer fee of 120 million euros, so far the 19 year old Portuguese attacker has looked well on his way to proving a shrewd signing on Atletico Madrid's part, starting all of Atletico's league games so far and providing one goal and one assist over the opening 4 La Liga fixtures. If Juventus want to avoid conceding goals then nullifying the threat of João Félix must be a priority.
OLD LADY FLATTERING TO DECIEVE
So far during Juventus opening 3 games the old lady have looked far from convincing, especially away from home. A shaky start away to Parma that saw Juventus wasteful in front of goal, a Jekyll & Hyde performance against Napoli that saw the old lady throw a 3-0 lead away, and most recently leaving Florence (admittedly a tough away fixture for Juventus) with a very fortunate 0-0 draw. Lets focus on that 0-0 draw, there are many possible explanations for why the team performed the way that they did, early injuries to Douglas Costa & Pjanic in the first half didn't help, as this threw the original game plan out the window as well as using up two substitutions early in the game. But still, the overall performance was disappointing & not what fans want to see before a big European night. A similar performance tonight, and Juventus could be returning to Italy beaten and bruised.
SARRIBALL
Maurizio Sarri has a specific way that he wants his team to play, unfortunately for him his current team Juventus have not had very long to fully adjust to this style of play. Travelling away to Asia during pre-season didn't help but that's for another discussion. Also unfortunate was Sarri's absence from the side lines for Juventus opening two games of the season, as he was recovering from a bout of Pneumonia. What is clear when watching Juventus (and was to be expected so early in the season) is how the team are not completely comfortable having to play the ball out of defence, specifically Wojciech Szczęsny, who throughout the previous game never looked comfortable when on the ball & at times almost contributed to a Fiorentina goal. No doubt Atletico will look to press & take advantage similarly to how Fiorentina played, The Juventus defence will need to be alert & decisive in their passing, otherwise it will be very unlikely that the bianconeri will leave with a clean sheet intact. Also cause for concern is the long term absence of Giorgio Chiellini, who will remain on the injured list for a minimum of 6 months due to requiring knee surgery, long time followers of Juventus know how much of a difference Chiellini makes in defence, his presence & leadership is already being missed, and welcomed by every opponent Juventus will face during those 6 months. The bottom line is that the team will need time to fully adapt to a new method of playing their football, but with Atletico awaiting them in Spain, time is not on Juventus side.
CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM
Fortunately for Juventus, Atletico have at time's looked far away from the rock solid defensive unit that we have come to expect. Known in the past for being a tough, awkward opponent that frustrates their opposition, Atletico have uncharacteristically been conceding goals all over the place, even at home. Atletico surprisingly fell 2-0 behind against Eibar in their own stadium before bouncing back to win 3-2 thanks to a late stoppage time goal by Thomas. Atletico then followed that scare up with a 2-0 defeat against Real Socidad. Make no mistake Atletico will remain a very tough opponent for Juventus, as the old lady has displayed her own uncharacteristic flaws in defence, throwing a 3-0 lead away at home against Napoli before a Koulibaly own goal spared the old lady's blushes in a 4-3 win.
WHAT TO EXPECT
4-3-3 with both Matuidi & Khedira starting in the centre of midfield, despite Rabiot looking impressive during pre-season. Matuidi & Khedira can contribute to the team when called upon, but when both play together the midfield becomes slow & predictable. Slow and predictable are not descriptions you want to hear when the opponent is Atletico Madrid, who will likely ponce on any sign of indecisiveness on Juventus part. Any result taken from the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium will be earned & hard fought, and with Atletico Madrid conceding goals lately it isn't impossible to imagine Juventus leaving with a draw or win... If the right Juventus side turns up on the night.
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