Juventus and Villarreal face off in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 quarter-final tie at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday night with kickoff at 11 pm.
Juve’s Dusan Vlahovic needed less than two minutes of Champions League soccer to score his first European goal. Still, a series of injuries derailed the Bianconeri on their run to the Super Cup title.
Villarreal’s veteran Dani Parejo evened things up in the 66th minute, but Juve dominated. The Turin side is now unbeaten in 12 games across all competitions since January and beat Sampdoria 3-1 Saturday thanks to an own goal and brace from Alvaro Morata.
Still outsiders for the domestic crown, Juventus have suffered last-16 exits in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 editions of the Champions League and falling at the final hurdle to Real Madrid in 2017. The chance to make it to the quarter-finals is theirs for the taking.
Unai Emery’s bread and butter are advancing in Europe, but Villarreal will travel to Turin as underdogs to advance to the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite competition.
After failing to take full advantage of Juve’s injury woes in the first leg, Villarreal thrashed Espanyol 5-1, suffered a 1-0 loss to Osasuna and scraped past Celta Vigo in Saturday’s fixture courtesy of another second-half Parejo effort.
Juventus vs Villarreal Head to Head
Both sides have one game against each other, with only one draw coming up. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Sampdoria 1-3 Juventus
- Juventus 1-0 Spezia
- Fiorentina 0-1 Juventus
- Empoli 2-3 Juventus
- Villarreal 1-1 Juventus
Away
- Villarreal 1-0 Celta Vigo
- Osasuna 1-0 Villarreal
- Villarreal 5-1 Espanyol
- Villarreal 1-1 Juventus
- Granada 1-4 Villarreal
Juventus Team News
Midfielder Denis Zakaria picked up a muscular injury in the first leg and remains uncertain for the second leg, as does Federico Chiesa. The return of the latter is expected to be long-term. Kaio Jorge is also out for the long-term alongside Chiellini, Dybala and Bonucci; of the three, Bonucci is more concerned.
Villarreal Team News
Raul Albiol, a Villarreal veteran at centre-back, was substituted at halftime against Celta Vigo due to hamstring discomfort. However, despite the injury, Emery affirmed that his substitution was precautionary and has not ruled him out of the second leg.
Prediction and Odds
As Juventus welcomes several big name players back to their defense, their European experience should come to the fore.
- Juventus Win
- Goals Under 3.5
- Both Teams to Score
