Three days after coming from behind to beat Lazio 3-1 in Serie A, Juventus have to produce another comeback effort when they host FC Porto in a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie. The Italian champs lost the opening leg 2-1.
Juve remains the favorite in the matchup thanks to scoring a late away goal in the opening leg. Bookmaker 10Bet is currently offering odds at 1.57 for the Old Lady to advance. Can Cristiano Ronaldo carry his side through to the quarter-finals?
※ Current Odds Date & Time: March 8th, 5:30 P.M. (EST)
Ronaldo played only 21 minutes as a substitute in the Lazio game, so he should be fully fresh for Juve’s seventh meeting with Porto. The Italian giant suffered its first defeat in the matchup on Feb. 17 when the 29-time Portuguese champion scored at the start of both halves.
The result marks one of just two defeats Juventus have recorded in the past 13 games across all competitions with nine of the matches ending in victory. Andrea Pirlo struggled to get his side going at the start of the season, but they are finishing the campaign strongly.
Pirlo’s men will be confident of turning around the tie as they boast a very good record at Allianz Stadium with 28 wins, 12 draws, and just five defeats in their last 45 European games.
Porto heads to Turin having gone winless in 13 Champions League knockout stage matches away from home while suffering nine defeats. They have lost eight of their previous 15 trips to Italy in UEFA competitions and winning just four times in the process.
The Dragons beat Gil Vicente over the weekend 2-0, but they have struggled for consistency since February, winning only four and drawing five outings.
Sergio Conceicao’s team has recorded just three clean sheets during the stretch as well, so they will likely need an away goal of their own to have a chance of progressing to the quarter-finals for only the fourth time since shocking Europe by winning the Champions League in 2004.
Despite Ronaldo scoring two goals, Juventus failed to beat Lyon at this stage a year ago, which surely left a sour taste in their mouths. Lessons were learned and they will look to produce a much more solid and professional performance.
Ronaldo’s strike rate in Europe has dropped since his move to Italy, but he has still scored in four of his last six knockout stage appearances. Stopping him is key here for Porto who will look to replicate their first-leg performance during which they limited the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to just one shot.
