Juventus vs Bayer Leverkusen
When Bayer Levekusen heads to the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday night, the Bundesliga side will be under no illusion of the task which awaits it.
The first round of Champions League 2019 results didn’t go as planned for either of these two teams and both will be determined to get back on track.
But Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus is setting itself to take control of Champions League Group D, having drawn its opener, while Bayer is yet to get off the mark. To face the Old Lady in Turin can be daunting at the best of times, but when defeat means you will be anchored at the bottom of the group; then the stakes are higher.
Talking Points
Juve’s midfield power
Juventus’ attack, spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo and supported by Gonzalo Higuain or Paulo Dybala is admired throughout world football. And its defensive pairing of Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs de Ligt is one of, if not the, best in Europe.
But Sarri also has a wealth of talent in the middle of the park, and he is favouring a diamond which can cut through opposing defences at will. After a 2-0 win over SPAL on Match Day Six, I Bianconeri sits in second place in Serie A, two points behind pacesetters Inter Milan. And new recruit Aaron Ramsay played just behind the strike duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala. The former Arsenal star is finding his feet in Serie A and he could be a big player in Europe too.
At the back of the diamond Miralem Pjanic too carries a serious threat. He was on target against SPAL and also last week in a narrow win against Brescia. With the gifted Rodrigo Bentancur in reserve Sarri has a strong hand in midfield.
Juventus was in control of its opening tie at 2-0, but Los Rojiblancos fought back to take a point. And that will have annoyed Sarri to the core.
The Champions League 2019 betting market has the Old Lady in a clutch of teams, including Real Madrid, Liverpool and FC Bayern, behind the favourites Manchester City and Barcelona.
In the In the SBOBET football world we see I Bianconeri as a possible winner, and this is the type of game they will expect to navigate successfully.
Die Werkself’s attacking promise
Bayer too will be disappointed to have made a slow start to the 2019/20 Champions League campaign, losing to Lokomotiv Moscow having dominated the game from start to finish. 1-2 down at the break, the Bundesliga side pressed throughout the second half, finishing with 78 per cent possession and having 17 shots on goal, but the resolute Lokomotiv defence held out.
Leverkusen has made a solid start to its domestic campaign, fifth on 13 points and just a single point behind leaders FC Bayern. Last season Peter Bosz’s team won five of its last six games to qualify for the Champions League and he has plenty of attacking resource, with Kevin Volland, Kai Havertz and Leon Bailey all capable of stretching a defence. Havertz and Volland were both on target in an impressive 0-3 away win at Augsburg yesterday, making it three for the season for Volland.
History
Die Werkself arrives in Turin with a modest record compared to its illustrious hosts, twice winners of Europe’s Premier competition.
Five times Bundesliga runners up and Champions League runners up in 2002, losing to Real Madrid, Bayer’s greatest moment was as winner of the UEFA Cup in 1988, beating Espanyol in a penalty shootout.
While Juve has won the Champions League twice, the most recent success was in 1996, and that’s far too long ago for Italy’s biggest team.
They come into the match in good form, unbeaten in eight games and six at home, winning the last three at the Juventus Stadium.
But Bayer arrives with back to back wins in the Bundesliga and they won’t roll over.
Betting tip
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Juventus vs Bayer Leverkusen | Juventus First Half Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 2.04 |
| October 2, 3:00 (GMT+8) |
When you look at the riches in Juventus’ squad then a home win at 1.46 looks very likely, with the draw at 4.20 and 6.80 for a surprise Leverkusen victory.
Die Werkself has firepower sure enough, but not enough to break down Locomotiv, and I think Bonucci and De Ligt will present an even stiffer challenge. For Bosz’ team to convert promise into goals they will need the night of their lives. But I think they will have to come from behind and that will give them a mountain to climb.
1-0 at 6.60 is the most likely result, but I favour 2-0 at 7.00, a goal in each half.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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