Champions League: Chelsea Look to Snatch Lead from Juventus

Chelsea vs Juventus

Top spot in Group H will be on the line when Chelsea and Juventus clash in the penultimate round of the Champions League group stage.

The reigning European champions have been on quite an impressive unbeaten run since losing to Juventus on Matchday 2. And the Champions League 2021 betting odds will be in the Blues’ favour when they meet at Stamford Bridge in the rematch.

However, the Bianconeri are also in the midst of their own winning run of late and will not be keen to surrender their lead without a fight.

Talking Points

Chelsea still doing fine without Lukaku

Chelsea just keep on winning. The Premier League leaders returned from the international break with a resounding 3-0 win away at Leicester City thanks to goals from Antonio Rudiger, N’Golo Kante, and Christian Pulisic.

They could have scored even more as they hit the woodwork twice and forced Kasper Schmeichel to make some great saves.

That’s now eight wins in the last nine games for Chelsea, with their lone setback a 1-1 draw against Burnley before the break.

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Chelsea have continued to roll despite the absence of star striker Romelu Lukaku, who has been missing for the past month. The Blues have simply returned to last season’s successful formation, with Kai Havertz playing at the centre-forward position and being the focal point of the team’s attack.

Meanwhile, the amazing form of wing-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell has also been instrumental to Chelsea’s recent success. James and Chilwell supplied the assists for Chelsea’s first two goals against Leicester. James now has two goals and two assists in his last three appearances for Chelsea while Chilwell has three goals and an assist in six Premier League starts.

The return to form of Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech has also provided Thomas Tuchel with two more dangerous attacking weapons at his disposal. The American Pulisic, who scored the winning goal in the USMNT’s big qualifying win against fierce rivals Mexico, now has two goals in his last three games, while Ziyech has a goal and two assists in his last four Chelsea appearances.

Ziyech scored their winning goal at Malmo last time out in the Champions League, so he could be in contention to start in midweek as a reward for his recent production.

Juventus back on track

Juventus continued their recent resurgence with a big 2-0 away win at Lazio over the weekend thanks to two penalties from veteran centre-back Leonardo Bonucci.

After a run of three games with a win, Juve have now picked up three victories in a row in all competitions, a stretch which began with a 4-2 thrashing of Zenit in the Champions League.

Paulo Dybala, who made a host of Champions League 2021 highlights in that win over Zenit with two goals and an assist, missed the Lazio match after picking up a calf injury while on international duty with Argentina. Coach Massimiliano Allegri said Dybala’s injury was not too serious, although it remains to be seen whether the Argentine attacker will be able to recover in time for their big clash against Chelsea.

If Dybala does miss out again, Alvaro Morata could be in line to start against his old club. The striker, who fired Spain into the World Cup during the break, only came on as a substitute against Lazio while Moise Kean got the start.

Juventus are to continue their winning form in upcoming Champions League match against Chelsea — Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri reacts during match against Lazio at Stadio Olimpico

Meanwhile, Juventus kept their second clean sheet in a row, which will certainly delight Allegri. Juve are still missing inspirational captain and centre-back Giorgio Chiellini, so Bonucci will likely continue to partner Matthijs de Ligt in defence.

History

This will be the sixth all-time meeting between Chelsea and Juventus in the Champions League. The Italian giants have now snuck ahead of the Blues in terms of wins (2-1) after winning their last two meetings, both at home.

That includes their 1-0 triumph in Turin earlier in the campaign. Moise Kean scored the early goal in that game to give the Italians the win.

Betting Tip

	Chelsea vs Juventus	Under 2.50 @ 1.90
	November 24, 04:00 (GMT+8)

SBOTOP odds have Chelsea priced as significant 1.71 favourites against Juventus, who are pegged at 4.70 to get the win away from home. Meanwhile, a draw is at 3.70.

Much like their first meeting in Turin, this match between the two giants of Group H figures to be a closely contested one. The defences of both teams are likely to take charge, particularly Juve’s, as a draw would benefit them more.

With all those factors in mind, it is shaping up to be another low-scoring affair between Chelsea and Juventus at Stamford Bridge.