Juventus face a tricky Champions League visit to Valencia
Juventus get their Champions League campaign underway with high expectations. Their first match of the season is an away outing in Valencia.
Upon signing Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus immediately emerged as top contenders for the UEFA Champions League. The master marksman of the European Cup returns to Spain just over two months after arriving in Turin but this time for a continental fixture. The Old Lady of Turin will visit the Mestalla Stadium to take on Valencia.
Juventus were knocked out of the CL by Real Madrid last season and that was down to three goals being scored against them by Cristiano Ronaldo- who is now on their books. There is reason to be optimistic for Juve now since they have a very reliable entity on their side- Ronaldo. The 33 year old opened his Juventus account in due time with a brace against Sassuolo as his new team cruised to three more points in Serie A.
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Juventus have been played in Group H alongside Manchester United, Valencia and BSC Young Boys. A victory against Los Che will be the perfect way to get the Champions League campaign underway. The last time Cristiano Ronaldo visited Valencia’s patch, he scored a brace in what was a 4-1 rout in favour of Real Madrid. Massimiliano Allegri will be hoping that Ronaldo can emulate his Champions League form of last season.
Juventus sit firmly on top of the Serie A table having won all of their last four matches in the league. Meanwhile, Valencia are struggling domestically and find themselves at 17th in La Liga Santander, just one position shy of the relegation zone. As a result, Juventus will obviously be the favourites to win the clash.
Allegri has slight fitness issues to deal with. The defensive duo of Andrea Barzagli and Mattia de Sciglio has been a doubt due to lack of training. Meanwhile, Miralem Pjanic and Giorgio Cheillini were rested over the weekend against Sassuolo and should start against Los Che. However, Valencia don’t have any injury or suspension problems and are likely to name an unchanged squad for their 0-0 draw against Real Betis.
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The referees appointed for the fixture will be headed by Mr. Felix Brych from Germany. The 43 year old is one of Europe’s highest rated referees and took charge of the UEFA Champions League Final 2017 which was a 4-1 win for Real Madrid over Juventus. The Old Lady will be hoping that the result in the Valencia game goes her way by a similar score line. The first whistle will be blown at 21:00 CET as per schedule.