The Champions League is a tournament where Juventus have failed to light up in recent years. Last season you may recall that they didn’t progress from the group stages, falling behind Real Madrid and Galatasaray – the season before, the Italian champions were humbled by Bayern Munich (4-0 agg).

Their lacklustre approach in Europe’s elite tournament has developed many critics, often questioning the state of the Italian league. As a supporter, it’s very frustrating watching your side dominate the league week in, week out but falling short when it comes to a Tuesday or Wednesday night. The problem is not the array of talent at their disposal – it could be a psychological issue, but that’s for a professional to cover.

Juventus have the opportunity to make amends for a stuttering campaign thus far – losing to Atletico and Olympiakos – into a positive one, should they beat their Spanish opponents by two clear goals, they can top the group. For many Juventini just praying to make it through, a draw is enough.

club	points	goals scored	goals conceded
Atletico Madrid	12	14	3
Juventus	9	7	4
Olympiakos	6	6	11
Malmö FF	3	2	11

 

2 Important Factors for Juventus
Left Back. With first choice LWB Kwadwo Asamoah ruled out for three months, Max Allegri must decide who is best suited to replace him. Arguably the experienced Patrice Evra is the natural replacement; however, Allegri has shown faith in Simone Padoin in recent matches. The Italian has started in two of the last three Serie A matches – against Parma and Lazio.

In the corresponding fixture (Atletico 1-0) Juventus had more possession, 61%. The Spanish champions played their usual style, which was sitting back, soaking up the pressure and hitting on the counter attack – arguably the best team in the World at implementing those tactics.

The game should pan out in a similar style in the Juventus Arena , therefore Juventus need a more attacking minded player on the left flank, a forward thinking player who looks comfortable on the ball and involved in the build up. Let’s not forget he is also a very disciplined player and does put in good defensive performances. Therefore for this particular match, my choice would be to start Simone Padoin.

Formation. In the corresponding fixture, Juve lined up in their typical 3-5-2 formation. As stated above, Juve enjoyed more possession against their opponents on the night (61%), but that was always going to be the case given Athletico’s tactics is to counter their opponents. The general performance from the Italian champions on the night can only be described as ‘flat’.

They passed the ball across the middle, unable to penetrate their opponents - It was simply too predictable. Following a series of similar performances in Serie A, Allegri has finally decided to mix things up – he’s implemented a 4-3-1-2 formation. The formation change has already paid dividends. Back-to - back wins against Olympiakos and Malmo followed. It’s got to be noted that Paul Pogba has excelled in the role in behind the two forwards.

Juventus' path so far in CL:

Juventus - Malmö FF 2-0

Atletico Madrid - Juventus 1-0

Olympiacos - Juventus 1-0

Juventus - Olympiacos 3-2

Malmö FF - Juventus 0-2 

 

Atletico Madrid. The Colchoneros are in good shape themselves, last season’s finalists beat Olympiakos in the last fixture 4-0. Having stumbled to the same opponents in the opening round, losing 3-2 in Greece. They picked themselves up in Europe – winning every match from then on, without conceding.

Atletico's path to far in CL:
Olympiacos - Atletico Madrid 3-2

Atletico Madrid - Juventus 1-0

Atletico Madrid - Malmö FF 5-0

Malmö FF - Atletico Madrid 0-2

Atletico Madrid - Olympiacos 4-0

However there have been some question marks against the side particularly in La Liga. They are going through a period of transition in the league. Atletico have changed the way that they attack as, with Mario Mandžukić, they can’t use the deep defending and counter-attack as effectively when they had Diego Costa, who of course has joined Chelsea. And the transition has been relatively painful – they have dropped points in Spain –falling behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. But they are still impressing in Europe.

Do you want to watch the game at the Juventus Stadium? EsaTour Sport Events is the best choice. The Italian-based agency offers the best accommodation and ticketing options available. Click here for more informations about the Juventus-Atletico Madrid event or write an email to [email protected].

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