19th April 2016 Kickoff: 1945hrs Barcelona v Juventus – Europe – Champions League It was another disastrous away performance from Barcelona in Turin last week as they went down 3-0 to the Italian champions. Similarities between that result and the hiding they received in Paris in the previous round are stark and Luis Enrique will be hoping that’s also the case in the second leg when they pulled off an incredible recovery, becoming the first team in Champions League history to progress from a four goal deficit. Juventus will almost certainly have something to say about that this time, though, and you sense that they are also better equipped to protect the lead they deservedly have.
Defensive frailties continue to plague Barcelona in the Champions League and remain the biggest barrier in their quest to become European champions once again. For as good as they are in attack and possessing the quality of player they do, you simply have to be able to defend to if you wish to be successful at this level – particularly in the latter stages of this competition. Luis Enrique has been unable to find the right mix of personnel or tactics to enable Barcelona to stop the opposition from scoring two, three or more goals, especially on their travels. Switching to a back three has certainly not worked whilst deploying Javier Mascherano as a right back was the latest failure last week. Due to the situation they find themselves in again it means they have to chase this game from the off which we know they are more than capable of doing but results such as the second leg against PSG are rare to come by and their star trio will have to perform even better on this occasion if they are to reach the semi finals.
The first leg of this tie could barely have went any better for Max Allegri and his players. Scoring three goals and keeping a clean sheet was the perfect outcome for a team who have waited just under two years to seek their revenge having lost in the final of the Champions League to the same opponent. That revenge is not yet complete, as sweet as last Tuesday was, and Allegri has already stated that he feels his team will have to score at least once to see them reach the next stage. Even if they fail to score then they remain in a very strong position such is their defensive record. Lyon and Sevilla are the only teams to have breached Gigi Buffon’s goal in the Champions League this season, and they only managed it once each. Barcelona are on a different level to those teams, of course, but Juve along with Atletico Madrid are the most organized teams in European football and you can bet their defensive stalwarts will relish this challenge in the Nou Camp.
Barcelona v Juventus Betting Tip
Barcelona may count themselves a little unlucky that they never scored an away goal last week as it was only the sheer brilliance of Buffon which kept them out. How crucial that lack of a goal in Turin will be remains to be seen but it’s testament to how good Luis Enrique’s men are that you still cannot rule them out despite the situation they find themselves in. The PSG game will serve as a warning to Juventus but they are more experienced and have a different mentality altogether.
Barca suffocate teams when playing at home and that will be their aim again on Wednesday. An early goal is vital to keep the fans on their side and to try and spook their visitors. It’s something they have been extremely good at doing in the Nou Camp when playing in the Champions League. They have scored a goal in the first 20 minutes in each of their four home games in the competition this season and I think that’s the way to go tomorrow evening.
First goal under 21 minutes 10/11 @ Paddy Power
