UCL 2018/19: Juventus vs Atletico Madrid - Match preview, predicted lineups and more
Juventus will have a mountain to climb when they welcome Atletico Madrid for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. Two late goals by Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin sunk Juve's ship at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium a fortnight ago and made Atletico Madrid the favorites to win the tie. An away goal will cement their position in the quarter-finals with Juventus then have to score 4 to win the tie.
Diego Simeone's side is well-organized and they keep their shape well. They are one of the best defensive sides in Europe and the stats speak for themselves. They have just conceded 17 goals in this year's La Liga campaign, which averages to 0.6 goals conceded per game. This makes Juventus's task more difficult.
But they have a plethora of world-class attackers at their disposal and are capable of opening up most stubborn defenses. Allegri's side will also take some belief from recent turnarounds in the competition with Ajax and Manchester United completing historic comebacks.
Cristiano Ronaldo's recent Champions League form is a bit of a concern for Juve. Juventus shelled out north of €100 million for him to give them the edge in Europe. But Ronaldo, who is said to be born for this competition, has just 1 goal and 2 assist so far.
He will be looking to fire Juventus into the quarter-finals with an inspiring performance at the Allianz Stadium. The Portuguese superstar has a phenomenal scoring record against Atletico Madrid scoring 22 goals against them in all competitions.
Form Guide
Juventus
Juventus are still unbeaten in Serie A and are 18 points clear of 2nd place Napoli. It looks like they will win the Scudetto for the 8th consecutive time. They have won their last 5 Serie A games in a row.
10/02/2019 Sassuolo 0-3 Juventus
16/02/2019 Juventus 3-0 Frosinone
24/02/2019 Bologna 0-1 Juventus
04/03/2019 Napoli 1-2 Juventus
09/03/2019 Juventus 4-1 Udinese
Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid sit 2nd in the La Liga table, 7 points behind leaders Barcelona and 5 points clear of city rivals Real Madrid. They have won 4 of their last 5 games in La Liga and have kept clean sheets in the last 4 games in a row. If they can extend that stretch to 5 against Juventus, they'll have a Champions League quarter-final to play.
09/02/2019 Atletico Madrid 1-3 Real Madrid
16/02/2019 Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Real Madrid
24/02/2019 Atletico Madrid 2-0 Villarreal
03/03/2019 Real Sociedad 0-2 Atletico Madrid
09/03/2019 Atletico Madrid 1-0 Leganes
Predicted Line-ups
Juventus
Atletico Madrid
