Barcelona looked dead and buried in the previous round against PSG, but produced a miracle comeback and now travel to Turin looking for their first-ever away win against Italian giants Juventus.
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Some might suggest that Barcelona’s name is on the trophy after their last-gasp Lazarus style comeback, but back underrated Juventus to gain a precious advantage in the first leg.
Juventus are simply unstoppable at home, winning 32 in a row in Serie A and well on the way to a sixth consecutive Serie A title. “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings” so the saying goes, but the “Old Lady of Turin” (as Juventus are affectionately known) are definitely good value at 17-10 with William Hill to dent Barca’s hopes once and for all this season.
Barcelona are suffering from travel sickness too, losing two of their last three away games in the competition — winning just four of their last ten, drawing two and losing four. Compare to this the Bianconeri’s magical unbeaten 21-match (W12 D9) home run in Europe. Barca will have to do much better than the evidence of their recent form on their travels, including that inept 0-4 defeat in Paris, which should have spelled an end to their European dream.
Barca backers beware – another tepid loss followed on their travels at Malaga in La Liga at the weekend. Yes Barca still have the attacking MSN trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez and pleasant memories of 2015 Champions League Final success in Berlin against the Bianconeri, but that was a much better Barca unit. This present bunch are not a patch on the side that won the trophy two years ago.
Juventus will not be as sloppy as PSG and have the firepower and defensive nous to get the job done against Messi and co, so Juventus HT FT is a decent 7-2 with Ladbrokes or Corals.
Gonzalo Higuain scored twice for Juventus at the weekend. Back the ex-Real Madrid man to win the battle of the Argentinians with Messi to score any time. Higuain is 6-4 AAT with 32red, while Messi is 13-8 with the same firm.
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Dani Alves starred for Barcelona between 2008 and 2016, helping the Catalan side win the Champions League three times. Now plying his trade for Juve and remembering how often players come back to haunt former sides, Alves is an amazing 21-2 to score AAT with 32red.
