Juventus impressed many with the manner of their last 16 dismantling of Borussia Dortmund. After what was a very tight and closely matched first leg in Turin, the Italian Champions turned in their best European performance for many a year in the return match, winning 3-0 and progressing to the quarter final stage for only the second time since 2006. They have not reached the last four since they lost on penalties in the final against AC Milan at Old Trafford. That’s an awful long time for a club who were regular contenders in the 1990’s. They come into this tie in great form, domestically, despite losing 1-0 to Parma at the weekend. It was the first time they had suffered defeat in Serie A since October, which gives you an indication of how superior they are to anybody else in Italy.
Monaco were the surprise package of the previous round after getting the better of Arsenal on away goals. The key to their success was of course the first leg when they won 3-1 in London – a result which their performance on the night more than merited. It was a completely different story at home, however, as the Ligue 1 club virtually crawled over the line after being battered by Arsenal, who will still be wondering how they only managed to win 2-0. That’s the nature of knockout football, especially at this level. Clubs cannot afford to be slack or have an off day. Although their history in this competition is not as great as their opponent on Tuesday, they have reached this stage on a few occasions, most recently on their route to the 2003 final.
With Paul Pogba still missing after picking up an injury in Dortmund, Juve will be hoping that their other star midfielder will return in time to face Monaco. Andrea Pirlo has not played since the first leg of the last round back in February, would be a timely addition to the squad for Massimo Allegri. One man who has stepped into the void left by the is Claudio Marchisio who has returned to top form at just the right time. His partnership with Arturo Vidal over the last few weeks has been extremely effective but they will be even better with Pirlo back controlling the tempo of the game, particularly in European competition.
The fact that Monaco have reached the quarter final stage means their participation in this year’s Champions League has already been hugely successful. They were handed a favourable enough draw in the group stage but having not competed with Europe’s elite on a regular basis, progressing to the knockout phase as group leaders was unexpected. It’s not just this competition which has been a positive for them either, they are only four points off the top of the table domestically and remain in contention to win their first league title since 2000. Their manager, Leonardo Jardim, has to take great credit for their performance this season having taking over last summer – it’s quite remarkable considering the players they lost during the close season.
Monaco’s defeat of Arsenal will have been a warning to Juventus that they must be at their best to make the semi-finals. There’s no getting away from how impressive both these clubs have been in their domestic leagues whilst their displays away from home in the last round were up there with the best performances of this year’s Champions League. Monaco’s struggles in the second leg are hard to forget, however, and I believe it is a truer reflection of their ability at this level. If Pirlo does make his return then I can see this being a comfortable home victory as Juve will simply not be as naive as Arsenal were. I looked at a Juventus win to nil which can be backed at 19/20 @ Sportingbet, however the bet I prefer is for the home side to score over 1.5 goals. It’s a bet that would have landed six of the last seven home games in the Champions League and I can see them exploiting this Monaco team who rode their luck at times in the last round.
Juventus Over 1.5 goals 10/11 @ Coral
