Juventus has been rather disappointing lately, barely winning against weak opponents in Serie A or even losing (1-0 against Parma over the weekend. It could be argued that the league is not a priority anymore and they did turn up to do the job when it mattered, beating Fiorentina 3-0 on the road in Coppa Italia after losing the first leg 1-2 and demolishing Dortmund in Germany with the same scoreline in UCL. However, weak performances can add up and affect morale even if they did not count in the standings – and the horrible loss against Parma will surely not give Juve confidence.
Monaco is on the back of a convincing 3-0 win at Caen, clearly playing the best football they played all season right now. They have been incredibly effective in the Champions League and to get past a red hot team like Arsenal was a massive achievement. Monaco lost just twice in the last 12 matches, against PSG and Arsenal – with the Arsenal loss being somewhat planned, as Leonardo Jardim clearly approached that 2nd leg knowing he had goals to spare.
Team news & lineups:
Juve has a number of serious injury worries, missing key players like Pogba, Asamoah, Caceres and possibly Pirlo as well (he`s 50-50 to start). Romulo and Marrone are out as well. Monaco will only miss backup striker Lacina Traore, with Bakayoko doubtful.
Juventus: Buffon – Evra, Chiellini, Bonucci, Lichsteiner – Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio – Pereyra – Morata, Tevez
AS Monaco: Subasic – Kurzawa, Abdennour, Wallace, Fabinho – Toulalan, Kondogbia, Moutinho – Martial, Ferreira-Carrasco, Berbatov
Juventus will be keen to avoid Arsenal’s fate and be more patient and cautious with their attacking approach. If they do start leaving open spaces, it could be a disaster, especially now that Monaco has counterattacking maestro Ferreira Carrasco fit in the starting lineup (he came on late against Arsenal in both matches and created havoc). Considering Monaco’s defensive and counterattacking brilliance in this type of away match and looking at Juve’s shaky form, my tip is Monaco +1,5 handicap. it should be close and if Monaco loses, it will likely be by just one goal. Pogba will also be sorely missed by Juve. Prediction: Juventus – Monaco 1-1.
Pick: AS Monaco (+1 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 2.13
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