Villarreal v Juventus Betting Tips
Juventus are a household name in European football although the Italian side are not enjoying any sort of dominance on a domestic or continental front right now. The reign of Andrea Pirlo was a short-lived one and Max Allegri has now returned to the Turin club and he’s trying to pick up the pieces.
Juve did come through the group stage with relatively flying colours after topping a section that also included Chelsea. However, they did get beaten 4-0 at Stamford Bridge to lay bare their weaknesses, with the Italian side trading as uncertain betting favourites to overcome an unpredictable Villarreal side.
Why Juventus Are Favourites to Enjoy UCL Triumph Over Villarreal
Juventus are currently seventh in the domestic standings and the fact that they are currently twelve points behind leaders Inter tells its own story. The Bianconeri have only won 50% of their games at the Juventus Stadium and they have arguably been more impressive on the road, although that 4-0 chinning at Chelsea laid bare a team who can be exposed.
Nevertheless, Juve did beat their English rivals at home thanks to a Federicio Chiesa winner and won home and away against Malmo and Zenit. Recent form has also been encouraging, with Alvaro Morata and Juan Cuadrado scoring the goals that helped them claim a 2-0 victory away to Bologna.
Things are looking a lot more impressive from a defensive point-of-view and perhaps it’s their ability to keep things tight which means they are regarded as warm favourites to get the better of a Villarreal side who experienced a dramatic qualification process.
Villarreal Looking to Stun Juve After Beating Atalanta
Unai Emery will be fairly sanguine about Villarreal’s UEFA Champions League draw considering that they have dodged teams such as Bayern Munich and Manchester City. It’s probably a big plus that they have also avoided Liverpool and it’s clear that the Yellow Submarine have a chance to overcome Italian opponents considering that they already dumped out Atalanta.
Emery is something of a specialist when it comes to European cup competitions, having won the Europa League on three occasions with Sevilla. Last season, the Spaniard then claimed the spoils with Villarreal and that ultimately earned them a shot at the Champions League where they managed to navigate their way through a trappy section.
After a 2-2 draw against Atalanta came a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford, although the Yellow Submarine then notched important home and away victories over Young Boys. A 2-0 home reverse against Manchester United put their hopes in doubt although they then stunned Atalanta in Bergamo when winning 3-2.
We’re expecting this Champions League tie to be close and that probably suggests that Villarreal are the value. We are expecting them to be alive going to the second leg in Turin, while they demonstrated in Italy during the group stage that they have the firepower to pull off a win.