Two legends meets at Estadio Do Dragao
The Champions League has featured many legends of the game over its long and illustrious history but rarely have two goalkeepers, who must be regarded as the best we have ever seen, come head-to-head in the competition. This is a treat we are about to witness in the 2016/17 Champions League as Porto and Juventus meet in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie in Portugal.
The two goalkeeping greats we are talking about have won twelves domestic league titles, three Champions League titles, two European Championships and three World Cups between them. They are Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon. Where the one stands out from the other, is in terms of Champions League titles, as the three have all gone to Casillas, leaving Buffon waiting to get his hands on the famous trophy.
Perhaps this will be the year for the Italian, who at the age of 39 is quickly running out of time to get the one trophy he really desires. Juventus, while not as strongly fancied to win the Champions League as Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, certainly have the talent and winning mentality in their squad to go all the way to the final. However, they must first defeat Casillas’ Porto team, who are a group of players on a great run of form, having won their last six matches in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
Porto’s home record makes for excellent reading and they are undefeated at home this season. Their home form in the Champions League is also very good, having lost just one of their previous fourteen games at the Estádio Do Dragão. During that run of games, Porto have defeated Bayern Munich and Chelsea, so they are not averse to turning over the big teams in their own stadium.
Juventus are also on a great run of form and have won their last seven matches in all competitions. If they have struggled this season, it has been away from home and they have suffered four defeats on the road this season, all of which have come in Serie A. In the Champions League, Juventus won all three of their away group games at Dinamo Zagreb, Olympique Lyonnais and Sevilla. However, prior to this season, Juventus struggled to win when away from home in the Champions League and won only one of their six matches. Saying that, there were draws at Real Madrid, Monaco and a victory at Manchester City in that run of games, so it was not all bad.
Porto have failed to defeat Juventus in three previous attempts but must do so here or face an impossible task in Turin for the second leg. However, Juventus look very strong now and with the likes of Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain in attack, have the talent to get an away goal in this match. Porto have proven difficult to blunt when playing at home in the Champions League and may get a goal but expect Juventus to be too strong and come out on top. Juventus to win makes a good bet for this match.
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