Juventus - Barcelona: Holding each other back in Turin?

(Baonghean.vn) - If they cannot defeat Barcelona in the match taking place at 2:45 a.m. on November 23 (Vietnam time), Juventus will put themselves in a difficult position.

In the first leg at Camp Nou in early September, Juventus suffered a heavy 0-3 defeat against Barcelona.

More than 2 months after that defeat, hosting their opponents at Juventus Arena, coach Max Allegri and his players have a chance to make amends. A victory against the Spanish team will not only help Juventus pay back the debt they owed in the first leg but also bring the “zebras” closer to the knockout round.

On the contrary, if they have to accept defeat or at least only get 1 point, the risk of being eliminated in the group stage is not small. In the case that in the match at the same time, Sporting overcomes Olympiacos right at home (likely to happen), the Portuguese team's score will be 7.

Messi's double helped Barcelona beat Juventus at Camp Nou. Photo: Internet

Thus, failing to defeat Barcelona (lost, drew), Juventus only got 7 or 8 points and did not have the right to decide to get a ticket to the next round, when the gap between them and Sporting was too fragile. The second ticket to play in the knockout round of this group will depend on the results of the 2 matches Barcelona - Sporting and Olympiacos - Juventus in the last round.

To avoid that not-so-bright scenario, coach Max Allegri and his team must win all 3 points against Barcelona in the upcoming clash.

In terms of current form, Juventus is not as good as the team led by coach Valverde. Not to mention the domestic league match that took place last weekend, while Barcelona extended their unbeaten streak in La Liga to 12 with a 3-0 victory at Leganes, Juventus fell with a score of 2-3 to the home team Sampdoria in round 12 of Serie A.

Barcelona are showing impressive form in all competitions they participate in, while Juventus have had an inconsistent performance this season.

Coach Max Allegri is making Juventus players mentally unstable. Photo: Internet

Coach Max Allegri's criticism of his players after the 2-3 loss to Sampdoria made the atmosphere in the Juventus dressing room extremely stifling. On the other side of the front line, coach Valverde and his team marched to Turin in a quite relaxed spirit.

As long as they don't lose, Barcelona will be sure to qualify for the knockout round and top the group with one match left to play. Holding the unstable home team Juventus Arena to a draw is not too difficult a task for Messi and his teammates.

With what is happening at Juventus and Barcelona at this stage, the home team does not have many opportunities to win 3 full points. It seems that this is not the right time for coach Max Allegri and his team to pay back the debt they owed Barcelona more than 2 months ago. In this situation, a draw is the most reasonable result for both teams./.

Thanh Hung