Juventus vs Real Madrid
Juventus and Real Madrid are going to face off for the final match of their 2023 pre-season tours in the United States. Their upcoming Club Friendly is to be held at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Max Allegri’s side has yet to lose a pre-season game with a 2-2 draw against Barcelona and a penalty shootout victory over Serie A rivals, AC Milan.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti’s squad recorded wins over AC Milan and Manchester United before losing 3-0 to Barcelona in their first El Clasico matchup of the year yesterday.
Football fans will be hoping for a lot of Club Friendly 2023 highlights on Wednesday night, and the SBOTOP Club Friendly 2023 odds predict that it’ll be a close fight.
Talking Points
Chiesa’s versatility is an asset for Juventus
Max Allegri has reportedly decided to turn Federico Chiesa into a striker ahead of the 2023-24 campaign in order to maximise his full potential.
Against AC Milan, Chiesa was paired with Moise Kean in Juventus’ 3-5-2 formation. Even if he didn’t register a goal or an assist, he was still considered the Man of the Match because of his robust performance.
Chiesa’s pace and ball-handling ability were on display against the Rossoneri, and this is a great sign for the Bianconeri considering his major knee injury last year.
The hope for Juventus is that Federico will be like his father, Enrico, who was a brilliant striker in Serie A back in the day. Enrico Chiesa won trophies with Sampdoria, Parma, and Fiorentina before retiring in 2010.
The AC Milan match also featured the Juventus debut of Timothy Weah, who played sparingly for Lille last season, playing as Jonathan David’s backup. Like Chiesa, Weah is young, agile, and good with the ball, giving Allegri another No. 9 option alongside Arek Milik.
Juventus’ ban from European football has cast a dark cloud, and their dire situation might force them to sell players against their will, with Dusan Vlahovic being the most famous name put out there.
Vlahovic is a polarising figure at Juventus. Whether you think that he has met the expectations of the club or not, there’s no denying the fact that he was their top scorer last season with 14 goals across all competitions.
If Juventus decide to cash in on Vlahovic, it would be a great piece of business for them if Chiesa, in particular, lives up to the hype.
Is Vinicius Jr. ready to be Real Madrid’s No. 9?
The game between Barcelona and Real Madrid would’ve been much closer if Los Blancos had been more clinical in the final third. Real Madrid had double the number of Barcelona’s total shot attempts (29 to 12), although Barcelona had more shots on target (7 to 5).
Los Blancos’ first real chance came in the eighth minute, when Rodrygo’s shot from the penalty area narrowly missed the target. The Blaugrana then took the lead for good seven minutes later when Ousmane Dembele found the back of the net.
Real Madrid almost scored the equaliser after 20 minutes. Fede Valverde’s cross hit Ronald Araujo’s hand, but Vinicius Jr. hit the crossbar on his penalty attempt.
In the 32nd minute, Rodrygo launched a free-kick from long range, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen kept it out.
Los Blancos had five more shots against the woodwork, and then Barcelona put the game away for good when Fermin Lopez and Ferran Torres added two more goals for the Blaugrana.
Vinicius Jr. has been forced to take on a more central role following the departure of Karim Benzema, and so far, the main takeaway is that it looks like he’ll need to take some time to adjust to his new role.
History
This is the second consecutive year that Juventus and Real Madrid are set to go head-to-head in a Club Friendly. Exactly one year ago, these two clubs met at the Rose Bowl in California, and it was Real Madrid who came away with a 2-0 win, courtesy of Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio’s goals.
Real Madrid also defeated Juventus 3-1 in their meeting at the 2018 International Champions Cup. After an own goal by Dani Carvajal after 12 minutes, Los Blancos bounced back with goals from Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio (brace).
Most of their previous meetings were in the Champions League, including finals matchups in 1997-1998 and 2016-17. Real Madrid won both of those finals with scores of 1-0 and 4-1.
Real Madrid’s triumph in 2016-17 made them the first team to win back-to-back finals in the Champions League era.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
