FC Barcelona travel to Juventus in the Champions League Quarter-Final First Leg

The Catalans have a tough away leg at Juventus Stadium in their Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Staff Predictions

Ben: 1-1

Brandon: 1-1

Laieke: 2-1

Form

The Blaugrana’s form has been highly dependent on the amount of squad rotation that Luis Enrique does. Whenever they have played their strongest eleven they have won, but various factors mean that isn’t possible for every match.

In the last ten games, Barça have won eight games with only two losses which were against Deportivo and Málaga. That period includes wins against PSG in the Champions League as well as wins against Sevilla and Atletico Madrid in the league.

The Old Lady are similar to Barcelona because they are in good form with seven wins in their last ten games. Their only loss in that time was against Napoli in the Coppa Italia, but they won on aggregate.

Squads

History

Meetings are rare between the two teams, but they have provided great matches. They met in the quarter-finals of the 2002/03 Champions League with Juventus winning 3-2 on aggregate in extra time. The only other time they have faced each other was the 2015 Champions League final, which Barcelona won 3-1 to complete the treble. However, the Italians are a different proposition at home because they are currently on a twenty-one game unbeaten run at the Juventus Stadium.

BERLIN, GERMANY – JUNE 6: Dani Alves of FC Barcelona celebrates their winning over Juventus within the UEFA Champions League at Olympiastadion on June 6, 2015 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Fishing4/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) /

Playing Style

This is an interesting matchup because it pits the best defence in the premier European club competition against the best attack. Each of Juve’s games at home have featured less than three goals, whereas in Barça’s games away from home there has been an average of three goals per game.

Juventus are the more complete team out of the two due to having no clear weakness, and they have depth in every position. Therefore, they can afford to pick up yellow cards to disrupt Barcelona’s play, which suits their defensive style. The only players at risk of missing the second leg because of this are Juan Cuadrado and Mario Lemina. This is in contrast to Piqué, Rakitić and Neymar who would be huge losses for the Catalans if they had to miss the second leg.

Even though they are famed for their defensive solidity, Juventus are an exciting team to watch when attacking. They are clinical with their chances due to having the prolific Gonzalo Higuaín up front. Their chief creative threat is Paulo Dybala, and they will look to play direct to him and Higuaín for the counter-attack. His movement off the ball, range of passing and finishing ability means that the centre-backs will have to be at their best. Busquets’ replacement will be key in dealing with him as well because Dybala could easily orchestrate Barcelona’s downfall if he is given space in-between the lines.

The key factor if Barça want to be successful over the two legs is the M-S-N trio. They will have to be at their fluid and incisive best to get through Bianconeri due to them being one of the smartest teams without possession. This means that whoever plays in the pivot role will be key because Busquets is so adept at ensuring possession is recycled back to the front three. Without him, they may struggle, and lack of service for the front three is how Juventus win the game.

Predicted Lineup

The suspension of Busquets is a major issue for Enrique with André Gomes being the potential replacement.