Juventus suffered their first loss of the Serie A season against Napoli, despite a goal from Randal Kolo Muani on his club debut. With a 16-point gap to the league leaders, the Bianconeri may now shift their focus to the UEFA Champions League (UCL). In the competition, they have secured three consecutive clean sheets, guaranteeing their progression to the next round. Having drawn more than half of their 31 games this season (W12, D16, L3), it is not surprising that their last UCL match ended in a goalless draw against Cercle Brugge. However, after defeating Manchester City 2-0 in their last UCL home match, Juventus could achieve back-to-back home wins ‘to nil’ for the first time since the 2018/19 campaign.
Benfica, who have won just one of their last five UCL matches (D1, L3), are only two points ahead of Manchester City after a thrilling nine-goal match against Barcelona last week (L 5-4). Their defensive struggles continued over the weekend when they lost 3-1 to Casa Pia, leaving them six points behind league leaders Sporting. However, with recent successes in the Portuguese League Cup and reaching the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, Benfica have something to build on. In their last four away UCL matches, they have won three, although they have conceded in each one, including a 3-2 victory against Monaco. Having won six out of eight European H2Hs against Juventus, the Portuguese side will be feeling confident about securing their qualification without relying on other results.
Players to watch include Dušan Vlahović, who will be counting on to fill the absence of Kolo Muani until the knockout phase. Vlahović scored the opening goal in Juventus’ last UCL home match, with three of his last four goals coming in the second half. Meanwhile, Vangelis Pavlidis, fresh from his impressive hat-trick against Barcelona, has scored all of his last four goals in the first 30 minutes of the game. Interesting fact: In six of Benfica’s last seven competitive matches, there have been at least two goals scored before half-time.
