quarta-feira, 11 de abril de 2018

Real Madrid v Juventus preview: Paulo Dybala suspended for visitors



Paulo Dybala will not feature for Juventus on Wednesday
Paulo Dybala will not feature for Juventus on Wednesday
Juventus will be without striker Paulo Dybala as they travel to Real Madrid for their Champions League quarter-final second leg tie.
The Italians currently trail the competition title holders by a 3-0 aggregate score from last week's first leg, but will not have the Argentine to call upon after his sending off at the Juventus Stadium.
Although it would take a mammoth performance to knock out Real, defender Giorgio Chiellini says Juventus must put on a good performance despite the scoreline.
"For long stretches of the first leg we would have deserved much more than a draw but instead we found ourselves two goals down and a man less," he said. "We go to Madrid with the desire to play a good game.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stunning overhead kick for Real Madrid last week
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stunning overhead kick for Real Madrid last week
"In football and in life you never know what can happen, and to go there and put on a good display even in view of next year would be important. We'll treat it like a marathon, not a sprint and we'll need to go into the game with a level head."
Despite their struggles in La Liga this season, Real Madrid have continued their impressive form in Europe as they hunt a third successive Champions League title, although Zinedine Zidane is only focused on Wednesday's game.
"The 0-3 result will not change things for us. It's another game and what happened, happened. It was a good game, but there is still 50 per cent of the tie to be played," he said.
"We have one final and it is tomorrow. Then we will see if we get through, and then who we have to face, but we must not think beyond tomorrow's game. We want to show that we are a great side, but we have not won anything just yet.
"We are regaining our confidence, the goals and our overall game. We have a lot of ambition and we are determined to continue at the top level. "

Team news

Alongside Dybala, Rodrigo Bentancur is also suspended for Juventus, while defender Andrea Barzagli and Federico Bernardeschi are injury doubts.
Sergio Ramos is also suspended for Real Madrid
Sergio Ramos is also suspended for Real Madrid
Real Madrid are without suspended captain Sergio Ramos while Nacho Fernandez will miss out through injury. Lucas Vazquez and Jesus Vallejo are also doubts.

Opta facts

The only fixture to have been played more in European Cup/Champions League history than this one (21st meeting) is Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid (24 games).
Juventus have won two of their eight away games against Real Madrid (D1 L5), winning 1-0 in February 1962, and 2-0 in November 2008.
In European Cup/Champions League history, there have been 312 previous occasions of the home team losing the first leg of a knockout tie - only six of those sides have progressed. None of these sides have managed to overturn a three-goal deficit.
Andrea Barzagli (right) is an injury doubt for Juventus
Andrea Barzagli (right) is an injury doubt for Juventus
Real are looking to secure a place in the European Cup/Champions League semi-final for a record eighth consecutive season.
Juventus have kept six clean sheets in their last 10 Champions League away games.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in all six of his Champions League games against Juventus, netting nine goals in total. No player has scored more against a single opponent in the competition's history (Cristiano Ronaldo nine vs Bayern Munich and Lionel Messi nine vs Arsenal).

Charlie's predictions

This is done and dusted, but Juventus won't want to turn up and get embarrassed. Their season was geared to winning the Champions League and they'll want to salvage some pride.
However, this is also all Real Madrid are focused on and Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to play as he builds another record.
I see it being an open game and perhaps a few of the supporting acts getting on the scoresheet.
Charlie predicts: 1-1 and Isco to score first

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