Chelsea vs Juventus - Match Preview
Tonight we welcome Italian champions Juventus to Stamford Bridge as we begin the defence of our European crown. But what can we expect from ...
https://www.chelseadaft.org/2012/09/chelsea-vs-juventus-match-preview.html
Tonight we welcome Italian champions Juventus to Stamford Bridge as we begin the defence of our European crown. But what can we expect from the Bianconeri?
Well, they're making their first appearance in the Champions League since 2010 where a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich meant they failed to progress past the group stages of the competition which for a club of Juve's stature is simply not good enough.
However, that was two years ago now and Antonio Conte's men are looking stronger than ever. Fresh off the back of a 3-1 win away at Genoa at the weekend, Juventus are sitting pretty at the top of Serie A with maximum points recorded so far having already beaten Parma and Udinese.
It would be foolish to suggest that they are somewhat fortuitous to be there as well. Juventus are currently on a 42 match unbeaten streak in Serie A which stretches back to the 2010/11 season meaning they went the entirety of last campaign unbeaten.
It is undeniable that Conte's men have a plethora of talent in their ranks, not just any old team can go a whole season unbeaten.
Sadly for the Turin club though, it won't be Conte managing them tonight. Massimo Carrera has taken charge of the sidelines for Juve this season as Conte is currently serving a massive 10 month ban for failing to report a match fixing scandal whilst he was in charge of Sienna. Conte is however allowed to send instructions down to Carrera on the sidelines but that's as far as it goes.
Juventus also return to Champions League life without their iconic striker and club captain Alessandro Del Piero as he completed a move to Sydney FC this summer. The armband now finds itself firmly around the arm of the equally iconic Gianluigi Buffon who will be making his 400th appearance should he feature tonight.
The Bianconeri will be looking to other stars such as the influential Andrea Pirlo, new boy Sebastian Giovinco, midfield maestro Claudio Marchisio and rock solid centre back Giorgio Chiellini to maintain their unbeaten start to the season and maintain Conte's unique style of possession based football which allows them to seamlessly alter their formation throughout the 90 minutes.
However the omens are good for the Blues. The last time we danced with the Old Lady we claimed a 3-2 aggregate win and progressed to the last 8 of the 2008/2009 competition.
Not only that, but we won all 6 of our home games in the Champions League last season and have finished top of our group in 7 of the last 9 campaigns.
In addition to this, Fernando Torres and player of the year Juan Mata both scored against Buffon in the Euro 2012 final in July and will be looking to repeat this later on.
John Terry and Ashley Cole have both shaken off knocks they picked up against QPR so Chelsea are at full strength after Marko Marin returned from his injury for the Under 21's in their defeat to Liverpool.
As far as predictions go, I think it will be close and could be decided by a single goal. We will need to be tight at the back and positive going forward. I am going to predict a 1-0 win for us tonight.
What are your thoughts on the threat Juventus possess? What are your score predictions? Be sure to leave a comment!
KTBFFH
follow me on twitter @sebbudd
Well, they're making their first appearance in the Champions League since 2010 where a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich meant they failed to progress past the group stages of the competition which for a club of Juve's stature is simply not good enough.
However, that was two years ago now and Antonio Conte's men are looking stronger than ever. Fresh off the back of a 3-1 win away at Genoa at the weekend, Juventus are sitting pretty at the top of Serie A with maximum points recorded so far having already beaten Parma and Udinese.
It would be foolish to suggest that they are somewhat fortuitous to be there as well. Juventus are currently on a 42 match unbeaten streak in Serie A which stretches back to the 2010/11 season meaning they went the entirety of last campaign unbeaten.
It is undeniable that Conte's men have a plethora of talent in their ranks, not just any old team can go a whole season unbeaten.
Sadly for the Turin club though, it won't be Conte managing them tonight. Massimo Carrera has taken charge of the sidelines for Juve this season as Conte is currently serving a massive 10 month ban for failing to report a match fixing scandal whilst he was in charge of Sienna. Conte is however allowed to send instructions down to Carrera on the sidelines but that's as far as it goes.
Juventus also return to Champions League life without their iconic striker and club captain Alessandro Del Piero as he completed a move to Sydney FC this summer. The armband now finds itself firmly around the arm of the equally iconic Gianluigi Buffon who will be making his 400th appearance should he feature tonight.
The Bianconeri will be looking to other stars such as the influential Andrea Pirlo, new boy Sebastian Giovinco, midfield maestro Claudio Marchisio and rock solid centre back Giorgio Chiellini to maintain their unbeaten start to the season and maintain Conte's unique style of possession based football which allows them to seamlessly alter their formation throughout the 90 minutes.
However the omens are good for the Blues. The last time we danced with the Old Lady we claimed a 3-2 aggregate win and progressed to the last 8 of the 2008/2009 competition.
Not only that, but we won all 6 of our home games in the Champions League last season and have finished top of our group in 7 of the last 9 campaigns.
In addition to this, Fernando Torres and player of the year Juan Mata both scored against Buffon in the Euro 2012 final in July and will be looking to repeat this later on.
John Terry and Ashley Cole have both shaken off knocks they picked up against QPR so Chelsea are at full strength after Marko Marin returned from his injury for the Under 21's in their defeat to Liverpool.
As far as predictions go, I think it will be close and could be decided by a single goal. We will need to be tight at the back and positive going forward. I am going to predict a 1-0 win for us tonight.
What are your thoughts on the threat Juventus possess? What are your score predictions? Be sure to leave a comment!
KTBFFH
follow me on twitter @sebbudd
Nice article! i have followed you on twitter my twitter handle is @shangs14 i must tell you that i am afraid of tonight game,considering the unbeaten record of Juve,lets hope for the best KTBFFH
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