MX23RW : Monday, December 23 04:07:39| >> :120:17583:17583:
[monks data]
Real Madrid logo
Champions League | Group Stage
Oct 23, 2013 at 7.45pm UK
 
Juventus logo

2-1

Ronaldo (4', 28' pen.)
FT(HT: 2-1)
Llorente (21')

Preview: Real Madrid vs. Juventus

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Champions League Group B clash between Real Madrid and Juventus.

Real Madrid will attempt to make it three wins from three Group B matches when they welcome Italian champions Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

Wins over Galatasaray and Copenhagen have left the Spanish outfit top of their section, but it has been a struggle for Juventus thus far with back-to-back draws against Gala and Copenhagen leaving them with just two points at this stage.

The two sides have met each other 14 times in European competition, with Madrid's home record reading won five and lost two. The pair also clashed in the final of the European Cup in 1998, when a strike from Madrid's Predrag Mijatovic secured their seventh European title.

The last time the two European heavyweights met was in the group stages of the 2008-09 campaign when Juventus won 2-1 in Turin, before Alessandro Del Piero scored twice in a 2-0 win for the Italian outfit at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Madrid, who currently sit third in La Liga, enter the match on the back of a 2-0 win over Malaga in the league on Saturday. However, Juventus, who are third in Serie A, were thumped 4-2 by Fiorentina on Sunday.

Iker Casillas is expected to replace Diego Lopez between the sticks for the home side, while Raphael Varane could also start in central defence. However, the match has come too soon for Xabi Alonso, despite the Spaniard returning to first-team training.

Gareth Bale is also expected to be named on the bench as he continues his recovery from a muscular injury, while Karim Benzema could take the place of Alvaro Morata, who started the league win over Malaga at the weekend.

Juventus have no fresh injury concerns from their defeat to Fiorentina on Sunday. Arturo Vidal will be hopeful of coming into the XI alongside Sebastian Giovinco, with Simone Padoin and Fernando Llorente both dropping out. Meanwhile, striker Fabio Quagliarella is unavailable with a thigh injury.

Recent form

Real Madrid: WLWWW

Juventus: WWDWL

Possible starting lineups

Real Madrid: Casillas; Arbeloa, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Khedira, Modric; Di Maria, Isco, Ronaldo; Benzema

Juventus: Buffon; Chiellini, Barzagli, Bonucci; Marchisio, Pogba, Pirlo, Vidal, Asamoah; Tevez, Giovinco

Sports Mole says: 2-1


ID:112663: cacheID:112663:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5205:
Written by
Matt Law
No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Juventus' Fernando Llorente celebrates after scoring his team's second goal against Hellas Verona during their Serie A match on September 22, 2013
Read Next:
Team News: Llorente, Pogba start for Juventus
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1AC Milan00000
2Arsenal00000
3Aston Villa00000
4Atalanta00000
5Atletico00000
6Barcelona00000
7B. Leverkusen00000
8Bayern00000
9Benfica00000
10Bologna00000
11Dortmund00000
12Brest00000
13Celtic00000
14Brugge00000
15Dinamo Zagreb00000
16Feyenoord00000
17Girona00000
18Inter Milan00000
19Juventus00000
20Lille00000
21Liverpool00000
22Man City00000
23Monaco00000
24PSV00000
25PSG00000
26RB Leipzig00000
27Real Madrid00000
28Salzburg00000
29Red Star00000
30Shakhtar00000
31Slovan Bratislava00000
32Sparta Prague00000
33Sporting Lisbon00000
34Sturm Graz00000
35Stuttgart00000
36Young Boys00000


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!