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Can Catalans Repeat The Show Again at Camp Nou?

By Nikhil Kulkarni

BARCELONA, SPAIN - MARCH 19: Lionel Messi (3rd L) of FC Barcelona celebrates with his teammate Neymar Santos Jr (2nd R) after scoring his team's third goal during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Valencia CF at Camp Nou stadium on March 19, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - MARCH 19: Lionel Messi (3rd L) of FC Barcelona celebrates with his teammate Neymar Santos Jr (2nd R) after scoring his team's third goal during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Valencia CF at Camp Nou stadium on March 19, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) /
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The Champions league is back with another wonderful game for Catalans to repeat the comeback. But it will test of fire against Juventus side who looks to go that extra mile to win.

A game between FC Barcelona and Juventus, who faced each other in 2015 CL Final are back to it again. Juventus thrashed Catalans in Turin by 3-0 thanks to the magical Dybala brace and a solo from Chiellini. They put on a wonderful display of football against the shaky Barcelona defense and made most of it. Barcelona looked better than the game against PSG but still, it was Paris 2.0. Messi was brilliant in that game but had rare support from others only to see his team lose by that margin.

So we are back at Camp Nou where Barca will lock horns with Juve to achieve the impossible once again. Everyone knows what happened at Camp Nou a month ago and so does Juve. They are wary of what might be the case while playing at Camp Nou as they are a bunch of experienced players. So it will be a war between Catalan attack and Old Lady Defense.

Talking about the away side, this team knows how to play big games and is consistently at the top. A team which has the strongest defense in Champions league is aware of the path ahead. A team with legendary Buffon at goal post who literally hasn’t allowed anyone to go past him is at top of Serie A. They have conceded just 2 goals in CL so far gives sufficient reason about their defense. With the likes of Dani Alves, Chiellini, Bonucci and Alex Sandro, the defense is rock solid and looking great with each passing game.

With players such as Higuain, Khedira and Pjanic can cause an instant impact on the game at any point of time. And the hero of 1st leg, Dybala brings everything required to this team to be best at any level. They have been much different from the squad in 2015 CL final and are looking good to have a real shot at CL this time. Apart from Dybala’s injury concerns, Allegri has everyone ready to go on the field. But they will still hope for Dybala to recover as it will be a mighty blow for them in this important game.

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As we have a look into the home side, they are suffering from a number of problems starting from lineups to injury. Catalans will be without Mascherano who suffered an injury in the 1st leg in Turin. He joins the already big list of Vidal and Rafinha on the bench. Barca was good in 1st leg but they missed no of opportunities and that might come back to haunt them. They have the most fearsome attack in football at the moment and they can do literally anything.

With Messi looking as hungry as ever and with Neymar and Suarez they can rip apart any defense on their day. Specifically, Suarez has a point to prove after his dismal performances in last few games. With Busquets back to link defense and attack Barca will be rearing to go at Juve at Camp Nou.

The Catalans have magnificent win record at Camp Nou in CL and that can cause pain to any opponent at Camp Nou. Barca are worried about their defense. They will try to minimize the mistakes from the 1st leg. The recent memories of the historic comeback against PSG are fresh at Camp Nou. And every Catalan fans will hope to enjoy those reminiscent moments again.

Nevertheless, no one has ruled Catalans out of this fixture with such deficit by looking at their record at home. But this team is Juventus and unlike PSG they know how to soak in pressure and win big games. It will be a straight war between Barca’s attack and Juve’s defense with almost 90 K home fans watching. An early goal from Juventus can kill the match but they are not foolish to write off this Catalan side.

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It will be walk on fire for both teams and the one with more calm nature will come out victorious. Fancying FCB’s chances to go through against this Juventus side are nearly impossible. But with Camp Nou in full support and history backing them this season, they can achieve it again. I hope for an exciting match that will be delicately poised till the end.