UEFA Champions League: Villarreal vs Juventus Preview, Odds, Prediction

A very interesting matchup awaits us at El Madrigal, where Villarreal hosts Juventus in the UEFA Champions League round of 16. This will be the first leg, and it should be one exhilarating battle. The hosts are high on confidence following several very good battles, while on the other side, the Old Lady didn’t shine at all, but they have Dusan Vlahovic in the attack, and the young Serb undoubtedly has a massive motive to present himself in the best possible way to the UCL fans.

Preview

Villarreal (+160) didn’t lose in the past four, winning three of them and posting one draw against Real Madrid at home in a game that didn’t seesee any goals. The Yellow Submarine beat Granada on the road on Saturday, 1-4 on the road, and that was the first goal allowed after three consecutive clean sheets.

The Spaniards played four consecutive events with only one side scoring prior to this weekend, and three were with under 2.5 goals. That was unusual for Villarreal, who had high-efficient affairs this year.

When playing at El Madrigal, Yellow Submarine is quite good. Right now, they are without a defeat for six straight contests, winning four of them and recording two draws. In all but the one (vs. Real Madrid), Emery’s unit scored twice.

Juventus (+170) is without a loss in seven events, yet in the past two, they didn’t win. At first, they took only one point in Bergamo vs. Atalanta before failing to beat the local rivals, Torino, on Friday night. Both of these events, ended with both teams scoring.

Only three Juve’s games in the past 10 were without goals on both sides, and the reason for that is several injured players in their back line. The Old Lady faces a lot of issues without the starting center-backs on the field, as both Bonucci and Chiellini have health problems.

Meanwhile, the attack is solid, with Vlahovic leading the way. Since he arrived, Juve is much more energetic, and the youngster will for sure be a superb addition to the already present core.

Latest News

Coquelin and Pena have slight chances of being in the protocol on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Gerard Moreno, one of the best Spanish strikers, is out for sure.

Juve is in problems. We already said that Chiellini and Bonucci wouldn’t play, and besides them, Chiesa, Bernardeschi and Dybala have injuries, and they will likely miss the clash.

Head to Head Games

There was one friendly international between these two sides, back in 2009, and that was when Villarreal beat Juve 1-4.

Prediction

The way these two sides play, we should see goals on both ends in this event. Juventus’ attack is in much better shape than the defensive line, and it is the only thing that keeps them competitive. Injuries have massacred the Old Lady’s goal protection, and Villarreal will know how to use that. So our final pick here is both teams scoring, with the odds on that suggestion sitting -105. It is a very good bargain which has to be used.

Pick: Both teams to score -105

Here are the previews for other UCL games:

• Chelsea vs. Lille
• Atletico Madrid vs. Man Utd
• Benfica vs. Ajax