With both teams sitting on three points in the Champions League Group D, Juventus’ encounter with Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday evening could well go a long way to deciding who eventually makes it through to the knock-out stages of the competition. The Portuguese side have already won on the road in Europe this season, making this an extremely exciting match-up.
Champions League – Juventus Stadium, Turin – Wednesday 18th October – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 18/5 at Sky Bet |
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Juventus
Sporting LisbonMatch Preview: Juventus vs Sporting Lisbon
The two team have both enjoyed one success from their opening two matches in Group D, with Juventus’ home record making them the firm favourites for this clash in Turin. However, with Sporting having already defeated Olympiakos away from home, manager Jorge Jesus will be quietly confident of causing another upset.
Juventus Team News & Form
Juventus were defeated at home for the first time in 41 Serie A matches by Lazio at the weekend, with manager Massimi Allegri hoping that his team can make amends with a crucial Champions League victory. Having recovered from an opening week defeat at the Camp Nou, a second successive success would put Juve in a strong position in terms of qualifying for the latter stages of Europe’s most prestigious club competition.
Star man Paolo Dybala missed a last-minute penalty against Lazio, however the youngster is expected to line-up alongside Gonzalo Higuain in attack for the home side. The likes of Alex Sandro and Juan Cuadrado could return to the starting line-up, having been rested for Juventus’ previous clash after long international trips.
Sporting Lisbon Team News & Form
Having made an unbeaten start to life in the Portuguese top-flight, Sporting will be looking to transfer their league form onto the European scene this week, with Jorge Jesus’ men in need of a positive result in order to aid their chances of reaching the knock-out stage. Having missed out on a transfer to the Premier League over the summer, Euro 2016 winner William Carvalho has been one of the stars of the show for Sporting, with the likes of Gelson Martins, Fabio Coentrao and Bruno Fernandes making up a strong line-up for the away team. Sporting have scored three goals in their opening two matches, all coming against Olympiakos in their opening encounter.
Head to Head
The two teams have never previously met in any competitive fixture, with the duo last meeting in a friendly encounter back in 2011, when Juventus came out on top by a scoreline of 2-1. Otherwise, there is little to draw upon in terms of their head-to-head record.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Given their fantastic home record, it comes as little surprise that Juventus are the favourites for victory with the majority of bookmakers, with Ladbrokes offering the Italian side odds of 4/11, it is worth looking further afield when it comes to wagering on this match. The visitors can be backed at odds of 9/1 with the same bookmakers, while betting on the home side to win both the first and second half is worth considering at odds of 20/21.
Top Betting Tip
However, our top betting tip for the match is to bet on Juventus to win and both teams not scoring, which is available at odds of 6/5 at Ladbrokes.