Valencia, who reached the final of the Champions League in 2001, host a Juventus side who will be buoyed by Cristiano Ronaldo scoring his first Juventus goal against Sassuolo. Los Che finished fourth in La Liga last season to seal their return to Europe’s top competition.
Valencia Host Juventus in Champions League
Key Players
The key players to watch come from the Italian side. Within their ranks, they have the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Pablo Dybala and Douglas Costa. Ronaldo will be vital and could prove too strong for Valencia’s defence.
Valencia, meanwhile, have Rodrigo leading their forward line. The Spaniard scored the winner in Spain’s 2-1 win at Wembley against England during the international break. Both sides are also defensively strong. Ex-Arsenal defender Gabriel Paulista leads the Valencia back line, while Juventus have a star-studded back line. Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci lie at the heart of the defence and will provide a firm resistance. At full-back, Alex Sandro and Joao Cancelo will provide extra support for the wingers.
How Will the They Play?
Valencia will try and use the pace in their wide positions to get behind the Juventus defence. With Goncalo Guedes, Michy Batshuayi and Rodrigo, this could prove threatening against the Juventus defence. However, Juventus new-boy Joao Cancelo joined from Valencia and will know how to deal with their attack.
The Valencia defence will be under pressure all game; Juventus’ forward line is phenomenal. Ronaldo will likely lead the attack but will be supported by Dybala and Costa. Juventus manager Max Allegri is deemed to be a defensive coach, so his side will likely be quick on the counter-attack. On paper, the Juventus attack seems too strong for the Valencia defence.
This game could go under the radar and be one to watch. It is likely to be end to end with both teams using their counter-attacking pace to cancel each other out. Ronaldo will heavily feature. Chiellini and Bonucci will also be vital for in defence, as Rodrigo and Batshuayi will prove testing at times. A win for the Italians should be expected here.
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