Champions League: Juve and City are Running Out of Time

Juventus vs Manchester City

Two teams struggling to meet expectations here in the Champions League are in for an uneasy trip to Turin as Juventus host Manchester City at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday evening. There’s a huge sense of urgency for these two clubs because they’re not in the Top 8 of the standings. Manchester City are 17^th, while Juventus are 19^th. Both teams only have eight points after the first five matchdays following their lacklustre run of Champions League 2024 results.

Both teams are coming off league draws, as Juventus needed a late equaliser to hold Bologna 2-2 last Sunday and Manchester City had the same exact scoreline against Crystal Palace on Saturday. Getting a win on Wednesday is a huge confidence boost for the Bianconeri and the Sky Blues since both teams are not in their best form.

 

Talking Points

Vlahovic’s return gives Juventus a boost

Thiago Motta will fancy his chances to beat the Sky Blues since he will have his best striker back. After missing three weeks due to a thigh injury, Dusan Vlahovic started on Saturday against Bologna. The Serbian striker, who leads the team with nine goals and two assists in all competitions this season, looked rusty against I Rossoblu, but he should be in much better shape when Manchester City visit town.

Juventus were down by two goals against Bologna after Dan Ndoye and Tommaso Pobega scored, but Teun Koopmeiners and Samuel Mbangula salvaged a point by scoring one goal each after the hour mark. Thiago Motta’s side now has four consecutive draws in all competitions and seven in the last nine.

Despite this, Juventus still have the best defencive record in Serie A, with just 10 goals conceded and 10 clean sheets from the first 15 games. The Old Lady also had a goalless draw against Aston Villa in the Champions League not too long ago.

Juventus’ injury list has eased up a bit. Besides Dusan Vlahovic, Nicolo Savona also returned to action, and he’ll vie for a starting full-back spot. However, the Bianconeri will miss Nico Gonzalez, Weston McKennie, Douglas Luiz, Juan Cabal, Gleison Bremer, and Andrea Cambiaso against the Sky Blues.

 

Manchester City’s absentee list remains long

Manchester City’s injury list remains long because they have a grueling schedule, and Pep Guardiola hopes to have some of his key players back to cope. Among them is Phil Foden, who missed the match against Crystal Palace because of bronchitis.

Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji sustained injuries in last week’s victory over Nottingham Forest, while John Stones and Mateo Kovacic remain sidelined. Rodri and Oscar Bobb are the Sky Blues’ long-term absentees.

Rico Lewis is available to start on Wednesday since his yellow card infraction doesn’t count in Europe. The 20-year-old midfielder is the youngest player to have played every minute in this year’s Champions League, and he has already generated 13 chances.

With Kovacic out, Matheus Nunes will play a huge role against Juventus. The former Wolves midfielder has recorded one goal and three assists in his four Champions League appearances already.

 

History

Wednesday marks the seventh matchup between Juventus and Manchester City in Europe. After losing their very first meeting in September 1976 (1-0 in the UEFA Cup), the Bianconeri have gone undefeated against the Sky Blues in each of their last five (W3, D2).

However, Juventus have lost four of their last six Champions League games (W2) at the Allianz Stadium, which is as many defeats as they had recorded in their previous 40 home matches in the competition combined (L4) between October 2013 and December 2021.

Manchester City’s winless run against Juventus is their joint-longest against an opponent in Europe, along with a five-game win against Barcelona between 2014 and 2016. However, Manchester City will take on Juventus for the first time with Pep Guardiola as their manager.

 

Betting Tip

The Champions League 2024 odds pick a relatively close encounter between Juventus and Manchester City. Despite being the visitors and their poor form, Manchester City are favoured to win at 2.05, while Juventus is not far behind at 3.36 odds.

Based on their recent meetings, football fans might not see many goals on Wednesday. Other than going for a draw at 3.17, SBOTOP bettors could also go for options like Under 2.75 at 1.65, Under 2.50 at 1.87, Under 2.25 at 2.12, Total Goals 2-3 at 1.97, or even Total Goals 0-1 at 2.97. The Correct Score of 1-1 could give you a decent payday of 6.20, while a goalless draw (Correct Score of 0-0) has a slightly higher offer of 9.80.

   

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