Anything less than a win for Juventus on Tuesday evening will seal their fate and see them crash out of the UEFA Champions League group stage, for the first time since 2013.
Juve desperately need 3 points when they visit Benfica in the Champions League. The Italian giants lost three of their opening four games in Group H and their chances of qualifying for the Round of 16 are extremely slim at this point.
Juventus sit 5 points behind Benfica and Paris St-Germain and will need to overcome both these teams if they are to have any chance of advancing beyond the group phase. Juve travel to Portugal this week before hosting French champions PSG next. Victory for the Parisians against Maccabi Haifa on Tuesday would confirm their progression to the knockouts.
Juventus last dropped out of the Champions League nine years ago when the Old Lady ended 10 points adrift group winners Real Madrid and 1 behind runners-up Galatasaray. That season Juve made it to the Europa League semi-finals in a losing effort to Benfica, whom had also finished 3rd in their UCL group.
Should Juve ultimately come short it would be the fifth time this century the Turin-based team has been eliminated from Europe’s primary club competition at the group stage. Although unlikely it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Juventus end bottom of Group H, behind Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa.
Not only in Europe have their results been substandard, but Juventus’ form domestically has also been a cause for concern this term. Max Allegri’s men are already 10 points off the pace in Serie A, just 11 matches into the season, having drawn to three teams currently in the bottom half of the table. Juve were also beaten by Monza, a newly-promoted side taking part in its first-ever season in the Italian top flight.
Since returning to the club last year, Allegri has not had the same fortunes from his first spell in charge. The 55-year-old previously led Juventus to the Scudetto for five consecutive seasons while also guiding them to the Champions League final on two occasions, albeit both losing efforts to Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Allegri managed 271 matches from the start of the 2014/15 season until the end of 2018/19, winning 191 of those at a stellar win rate of 70 per cent. In his current stint the Juve boss has won only 35 of 67 games, a less impressive win rate of 52 per cent.
Seven years ago Claudio Marchisio, Paul Pogba, Andrea Pirlo, and Arturo Vidal represented one of the very best midfield units in world football, but present day Allegri is struggling for productivity within his engine room. Juve have no fewer than seven senior midfielders on their books, with the majority of these defensive-minded players.
Pogba has missed all 15 of Juventus’ matches this season, following knee surgery in early September, but the 29-year-old recently made a return to training. The trip to Lisbon comes too soon for Pogba’s first on-field appearance of the season but the Frenchman will be eager to feature against PSG next week.
There are several other injury concerns for Juve with Angel di Maria, Bremer, and Leandro Paredes all unavailable versus Benfica. Federico Chiesa is also ruled out of the contest on what is his 25th birthday.
Bet365 have Benfica at 2.10 to win; Juventus 3.60 to win; 3.50 for a draw.
Kick-off comes from the Estádio da Luz at 21H00 CET.
⚪️⚫️ 𝗕𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 #𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗝𝗨𝗩 📜#UCL pic.twitter.com/ETmYHT3V97
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 24, 2022
