On Wednesday, October 26, at 03:00 a.m. Beijing time, in the fifth round of Group H of the Champions League group stage, Juventus will travel to Lisbon to take on Benfica. The two teams clashed in the first leg at Turin City, which the Portuguese team won 2-1.
In this game, the Bianconeri faced a backwater battle in which only a win can retain the hope of qualifying, and a draw will be eliminated early.
Opponent status
Since taking three points from Turin in the second round of the Champions League group stage, Benfica remain unbeaten at home and abroad.
Benfica "The Eagles" beat Porto 1-0 on Friday thanks to a goal from Rafa Silva and currently sits at the top of the Portuguese Premier League with an excellent record of 9 wins and 1 draw with 28 points, six points ahead of Braga and Porto.
Attacking midfielder Rafa Silva is currently Benfica's second-highest scorer in the league with five goals, behind Gonzalo Ramos.
Defensively, goalkeeper Flachodimos has conceded five goals in seven of his 10 league games.
Champions League standings
Benfica are unbeaten in 18 matches in all competitions this season, including two back-to-back draws against Paris Saint-Germain in Group H of the Champions League.
In the third round of the Champions League group stage, Benfica was at home by Messi in the 22nd minute, but PSG's Portugal international Danilo Pereira put himself in the face before the end of the first half to make it 1-1.
In the match at the Parc des Princes in Paris, the two teams once again played 1-1. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring with a penalty and the tenacious Benfica equalised in the 62nd minute thanks to Joao Mario's penalty.
After these two draws, Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain share eight points, five points above Juve. Therefore, in the game away from Lisbon, Juve only had one way to win and keep hope alive.
Italian media reported that although Juventus winger Chiesa played in friendly matches and performed well, it was too early for him to return to the Champions League against Benfica.
Chiesa is struggling to regain fitness and on Saturday he played 45 minutes and scored two goals in a friendly match organised between Juve's first team and reserves. This helped Chiesa regain confidence and get close to returning to the game.
However, the Bianconeri will not rush him to return, and the next game will still make him watch from the sidelines. According to the all-market website, Chiesa will not participate in the Champions League match against Benfica in the middle of the week.
Juve need to win this game, but they still don't think it's the right decision to get him back so soon.
Italian media have reported that Juventus star Pogba's recovery has also progressed, and he is aiming to return against Paris Saint-Germain.
Winger Chiesa has already trained in the first team, which is a huge plus for the Bianconeri. In addition, France international Paul Pogba may also return to action soon.
Pogba returned to Juve as a free agent this summer, but has not played in official matches due to an injury in pre-season. Pogba is an important addition to Juve's midfield and his return will certainly make the team better.
Tuttojuve revealed that Pogba's recovery has also made good progress, with Juve confident he can make a comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.