Champions League football tips – Juventus vs Real Madrid prediction

Juventus are definitely without Martin Caceres and Kwadwo Asamoah for this Champions League semi-final, first leg. Paul Pogba is close to a return but is likely to be back for the second leg. Manager, Massimiliano Allegri may return to the 3-5-2 system used in Monaco, as a way to flood the midfield and make things difficult to Real Madrid.

Carlo Ancelotti is waiting on the fitness of striker Karim Benzema and the Frenchman may start from the bench. The injury to Luka Modric could see Sergio Ramos play in central midfield, as he did against Atletico Madrid last time out. Gareth Bale’s return to fitness could see the Welshman start in-front of Isco.

Probable Line-ups

Juventus: 3-5-2 formation: Buffon; Barzagli, Chiellini, Bonucci, Lichtsteiner; Marchiso, Pirlo, Vidal, Evra; Tevez, Morata

Real Madrid: 4-4-2 formation: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo; Kroos, Ramos, James, Bale, Ronaldo, Hernandez

  • Juventus have won 7, drawn 1 and lost 2 of their last 10 matches
  • Real Madrid have won 8, drawn 1 and lost 1 of their last 10 matches
  • Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Juventus have scored an average of 1.4 goals and conceded an average of 0.5 goals per game
  • Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Real Madrid have scored an average of 2.9 goals and conceded an average of 0.8 goals per game
  • There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 3 of Juventus’ previous 10 matches
  • There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 7 of Real Madrid’s previous 10 matches
  • These teams met in Turin during the group stages of the 2013/14 Champions League, with the match ending a 2-2 draw

Juventus sealed the Serie A title on the weekend and now have their sights firmly set on European glory. The team seem to be coping with the loss of Paul Pogba and will have to do so again in this one. Undefeated in their last 7 Champions League games, confidence is high at the Juventus Stadium and the Italians would be pleased with a repeat of the 1-0 win over Monaco in the last round.

Real Madrid have come back in to form at the right time of the season. Carlo Ancelotti’s team handed Sevilla their first home defeat in La Liga for over a year on the weekend and that’s now 5 wins in a row in all competitions. Battling on two fronts, it will be interesting to see just how fresh Real Madrid are for this match, with Ancelotti unlikely to make many changes.

Juventus will know the risks of failing to keep a clean-sheet and that will lead to a closely fought contest, with little space in midfield. With home advantage, Juventus could travel to Madrid with a slender lead.

We say:  Juventus to win by 1 goal at 10/3 with Bet365

What are your Champions League predictions and football tips?

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