Juventus will seek to clinch a spot in the knockout stages as they host a Valencia side that have shown some good form recently. Juventus should’ve already clinched the spot in the next round but a shocking 5 minutes where they let a 1-0 lead slip and lost 1-2 to Man Utd meant that Juve are still not through, however as little as a draw is enough for them to advance. Juve have bounced back well after losing to united winning back to back games and will feel confident about their chances against a team that they already beat away from home with TEN men. For Valencia this is a MUST win otherwise they’d need Young Boys to get something at Old Trafford and that’s just unlikely. Valencia have won 3 straight games so they’ll be hoping that they can build on that form and get a surprise win here.
Key Facts
Juventus record in all competitions this season is 15W 1D 1L. Near unbeatable.
Oddly enough, both of the games that Juventus didn’t win this season were at home.
The Juventus loss to Man Utd was only their second in their last 36 group stage home games in the Champions League. 24W 10D.
Juventus have kept 3 clean sheets in 4 UCL games this season.
Juventus have conceded just 11 goals in 17 games in all competitions this season.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 7 goals in his last 8 games for Juventus including his first in UCL for Juve this season. On fire.
Dybala is Juventus top scorer in the UCL with 4 goals.
Valencia have won 3 straight games in all competitions. Best form shown this season.
Valencia have scored 7 goals in this 3 game win streak. As many as they managed in the previous 9 games.
14 of 18 Valencia’s games this season had under 2.5 goals. Not so entertaining.
Valencia have drawn both of their away games in UCL this season. (0-0 vs Man Utd, 1-1 vs Young Boys).
Valencia have only lost 1 of their last 13 games in all competitions. However they won just 5 and drawn 7. No draws in their last 5 however (4W 1D).
Valencia are unbeaten away from home since their first away game of the season. 4W 5D.
Santi Mina has been the man on fire for Valencia with 6 goals in his last 4 apps..
The first game between these clubs saw 7 bookings including a RED. Feisty.
Team News
Juventus: Bernardeschi, Khedira and Can are all expected to be out for Juve. During the weekend we saw Allegri use a 4-4-2 with Cuadradro and Costa starting but we expect him to revert to a 4-3-3 with Matuidi in midfield alongside Pjanic and Bentancur while Dybala should return to the starting lineup and start alongside Ronaldo and Mandzukic up front. Furthermore, Chellini came off the bench against SPAL but is expected to start over Rugani. Cancelo will likely come in for De Sciglio at RB.
Valencia: Valencia are likely to miss Cheryshsev and Piccini who weren’t likely to feature anyway so they have a pretty much full strength lineup coming into this game. It’ll be interesting to see who starts up front as Batshuayi and Gameiro will be hopeful but the recent form of Rodrigo and especially Mina may mean that the latter will start together again. Kongodbia and Garay are both expect to return into the starting lineup after missing out the last League game for what was likely to be rest purposes.
Betting Tips and Predictions
It’s best to back Juve here. Juventus are highly unlikely to mess up back to back home games in the Champions League and we expect a fully motivated and focused side here which can only mean one thing for Valencia and that a defeat. Juventus -1.25 or even -1.5 handicap is worth the look, we anticipate them to shut Valencia out and get a routine 2-0 win. Under 2.5 goals at 2.18 also looks like a very good bet given how solid Juventus are at the back and how under ish Valencia are. BTTS No at 1.82 is also worth the look, we’re very confident about a Juventus clean sheet in this game. Furthermore, expect quite a ton of bookings as this is a huge game especially for Valencia and once things go wrong they’ll pick those cards in a hurry, we expect about 5-6 yellows in this game.
Match Odds (Unibet)
Juventus Win – 1.41
Draw – 4.95
Valencia Win – 8.75
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