At 4:00 a.m. Beijing time on February 23, the rejuvenated Juventus will go to the Spanish Ceramic Stadium to fight with the defending Champions League champion Villarreal in the Champions League round of 16. This will be the first time the two teams have met in a Champions League knockout round, so this game is a veritable narrow road encounter.
The last time Juve played against a Spanish team in the Round of 16 in the Champions League was in the 18-19 season, in the match with Atletico, Juve lost 0-2 away in the first leg, but in the second leg, the Serie A giants returned with 3 goals to reverse the promotion. In the following two seasons, Juve never broke through the first round of the Champions League knockout round.
With the return of manager Allegri, Juve once again stood in the Champions League knockout round, the first goal is to break through the spell of stopping the round of 16, after all, it is not more than three, especially for giants like Juve.
The opponents of the Yuwen round, Villarreal, are also looking forward to the birth of the record, Villarreal has had two Champions League knockout rounds, but that's all, they have never advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals. Villarreal boss Emery has the same experience, never experienced the taste of the Champions League quarter-finals in his coaching career, and in the Champions League round of 16, Emery has only won one victory.
Juve suffered a wave of injuries and a sharp decrease in offensive firepower
Juve have a good record in the Champions League group stage, except for a 4-0 away loss to defending Champions League champions Chelsea, the remaining five games have maintained a total victory, which has allowed Juve to push Chelsea to advance to the round of 16 as the first in the group. At the same time, since December last year, it has remained unbeaten in serie A.
However, judging from the recent record of 1 win and 4 draws in the league, Juve show signs of weakness in attack. This is partly due to the fact that new signing Vlahovic has not yet fully integrated into the team, and in the four games he played for Juve, Vlahovic only contributed 1 goal, which is much less efficient than his scoring efficiency in Fiorentina.
In addition to the uncertainty of Vlahović's run-in period, Allegri also needs to face the problem of Dybala's absence, in the last round against Turin, Dybala left the field due to injury in the 54th minute, and in the first leg against Villarreal, Dybala will most likely be absent. At the same time, Chiesa Junior, Bernardeschi, Rougani and Chiellini are also on the injury list.
The top scorer is absent, and Emery still has a sharp hand
Similar to the problems that have afflicted Allegri, Emery also faces the absence of the team's top scorer, Moreno. Moreno has contributed 9 goals and five assists to Villarreal in La Liga and the Champions League this season. Moreno's absence is undoubtedly a headache for Emery, but he still has offensive weapons at his disposal.
In the winger position, Dutch striker Danjuma remains trusted by Emery. In Serie A and the Champions League, Danjuma, who delivered 12 goals and three assists, scored no less efficiently than Moreno. At the same time, due to the inability of Juve Chiesa Jr. to appear, Danjuma's attack on the flank will become a key point in Emery's upset.
Juve's attack remains to be seen, Emery's defense is guaranteed, and the first leg is difficult to win or lose
Juve's attack lacked creativity due to the inability of Dybala and Chiesa Jr. to play, and Vranovic had the ability to decide the game, but the actual performance remained to be seen. Meanwhile, Emery's side is trustworthy defensively, conceding only 24 goals in 25 La Liga games, averaging less than 1 goal per game, and the showdown between Defender Paul Torres and Vlahovic will be a point of attention in this game. Coupled with the home field advantage, the first leg of the match between the two sides may be difficult to win or lose.