The UEFA Europa League quarter-finals get underway on Thursday, with Italian giants Juventus welcoming Portuguese side Sporting to the Allianz Stadium.
Juventus knocked out SC Freiburg to book their place in the last eight, while Sporting dispatched Premier League leaders Arsenal to the reach the quarter-finals.
With the second leg scheduled for next Thursday, both sides are likely to approach the first leg with caution. Still, Juventus will be eager to gain an advantage in front of their home fans.
Juventus suffered a 2-1 defeat to Lazio on Saturday, leaving them seventh in the Serie A table – eight points shy of the Champions League places.
Max Allegri’s men have now failed to win their previous two matches, having also registered a 1-1 draw with Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia last week.
Juventus started the season in the Champions League but lost five of their six group games, dropping into the Europa League after finishing third in Group H.
Having made light work of their Europa League opponents so far – beating Nantes 4-1 and Freiburg 3-0 – the Old Lady will be hopeful of dispatching Sporting.
Like Juventus, Sporting began life in the Champions League this season. However, they finished third in Group D after taking seven points from a possible 18.
After claiming a 5-1 aggregate victory over Midtjylland in the Europa League knockout round play-offs, the Portuguese outfit defeated Arsenal on penalties in the previous round.
Thanks largely to a Francisco Trincao hat-trick, Sporting secured a 4-3 victory over Casia Pia last time out, extending their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 11 matches.
With only three defeats coming in their previous 26 encounters across all competitions, the Lions could go deep into the Europa League this term.
Head-to-head: Juventus and Sporting’s only previous meetings came during the 2017-18 Champions League group-stage campaign.
Juventus defeat Sporting 2-1 in Italy before the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in Portugal, meaning Juve remain unbeaten in this fixture.
Team news: Juventus look set to be without the injured duo of Mattia De Sciglio and Kaio Jorge for the first leg.
Sporting currently have Jovane Cabral and Daniel Braganca sidelined due to injury, while Paulinho is a doubt for Thursday’s clash.
Although Sporting are enjoying an eye-catching run at the moment, Juventus are expected to come out on top at the Allianz Stadium.
Forebet predicts that Juventus will clinch a low-scoring win on Thursday, keeping a clean sheet on their way to victory.
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