Juventus and Maccabi Haifa get back to action in their Champions League campaign with a must-win game on Wednesday, with poth sides pointless and sitting at the bottom of Group H.
Having given PSG and Benfica a six-point head start, theisides meet in Turin for the first game in a double-header which could effectively decide their fate in Europe.
Juventus have lost both of their opening group matches for the first time following back-to-back defeats to PSG and their expected rivals for second spot in Group E, Benfica.
Soon after playing out a domestic draw with Salernitana, Juventus then threw away a lead against Benfica to remain without a point and slip six behind their Portuguese counterparts in the standings.
Things then got from bad to worse before getting any better back in Serie A, when the Bianconeri were humbled by rock-bottom Monza in their final fixture before the break.
Having won just one of their eight matches, Juventus hosted Bologna upon their return to action, and a fortnight away seemed to have done them a certain amount of good, as Filip Kostic and Dusan Vlahovic scored either side of half time before Arkadiusz Milik struck home the third just after the hour mark.
Maccabi Haifa lost 1-0 both home and away to Juventus in the 2009-10 group stage, with the Old Lady’s now-departed defender Giorgio Chiellini getting the only goal in Turin.
Maccabi may have lost 3-1 to PSG on the second matchday, but theyr took an unexpected lead and caused their opponents plenty of problems.
Having joined the qualifying process in the second round, Maccabi have already come a long way to compete among Europe’s elite, and they must now turn positive performances into results if they are to prolong their stay at the top table until 2023.
Juventus vs Maccabi Haifa head to head
These two teams have previously met on just two occasions in the Champions League group stage back in 2009, where Juventus won in both encounters while scoring two goals and keeping clean sheets in the process.
Juventus 1-0 Maccabi Haifa 21/10/09
Maccabi Haifa 0-1 Juventus 03/11/09
Juventus latest home form
Juventus have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their six most recent matches. They managed to defeat Bologna 3-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded five.
Juventus 1-1 Roma 27/08/22
Juventus 2-0 Spezia 31/08/22
Juventus 2-2 Salernitana 11/09/22
Juventus 1-2 Benfica 14/09/22
Juventus 3-0 Bologna 02/10/22
Juventus latest away form
Juventus have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having been winless in their eight most recent matches. They lost 1-0 to Monza in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored just two goals and conceded six.
Real Madrid 2-0 Juventus 31/07/22
Sampdoria 0-0 Juventus 22/08/22
Fiorentina 1-1 Juventus 03/09/22
PSG 2-1 Juventus 06/09/22
Monza 1-0 Juventus 18/09/22
Maccabi Haifa latest home form
Maccabi Haifa have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their seven most recent matches. They defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 13 goals and conceded seven.
Maccabi Haifa 3-2 Red Star Belgrade 17/08/22
Maccabi Haifa 4-1 Maccabi Netanya 27/08/22
Maccabi Haifa 3-1 Sektzia Nes Tziona 10/09/22
Maccabi Haifa 1-3 PSG 14/09/22
Maccabi Haifa 2-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv 01/10/22
Maccabi Haifa latest away form
Maccabi Haifa have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having lost each of their two most recent matches. They lost 3-0 to Hapoel Jerusalem in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored five goals and conceded eight.
Red Star Belgrade 2-2 Maccabi Haifa 23/08/22
Bnei Sakhnin 0-1 Maccabi Haifa 30/08/22
Hapoel Be’er Sheva 1-2 Maccabi Haifa 03/09/22
Benfica 2-0 Maccabi Haifa 06/09/22
Hapoel Jerusalem 3-0 Maccabi Haifa 18/09/22
Juventus news
After the injured Wojciech Szczesny, Adrien Rabiot, Manuel Locatelli and Alex Sandro returned to action, Juventus can also welcome back Angel Di Maria in midweek.
Locatelli and Rabiot could join forces the in midfield, but Leandro Paredes and Fabio Miretti are on standby if Allegri decides to shuffle his squad.
Maccabi Haifa news
Maccabi Haifa are expected to name a similar starting XI in Turin to the one that defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv at the weekend, with Omer Atzili starting up front.
Mahnoud Jaber may be absent from the visitors’ squad once again, with Suf Podgoreanu, once more ruled out due to injury.
Prediction and Odds
Maccabi Haifa have an uphill struggle to even secure third spot in the group as they compete above their weight class in the ever-demanding Champions League.
Despite Juventus’ woes, the hosts are under a little less pressure on home turf after beating Bologna convincingly last time out and should win.
Odds: 1 1.78 X 2.10 2 2.26
Probable outcomes
Juventus 1-0 Maccabi Haifa
Juventus 2-0 Maccabi Haifa
Juventus 2-1 Maccabi Haifa
Juventus 3-0 Maccabi Haifa
Juventus 3-1 Maccabi Haifa
