As the UEFA Champions League draws ever closer to its highly-anticipated finale, the match between Monaco and Juventus signals the start of the competition’s semi-final clashes and both teams will be desperate to get a strong advantage going into the second-leg. Juventus travel to France to pick up a good result heading into the second-leg in Turin next week as both sides will be playing for a place in the final against either Atletico or Real Madrid, an exciting prospect.

STATS

• Monaco were devastating in the quarter-final as they overcame Borussia Dortmund 6-3 over two legs to set-up their semi-final clash. They’ve only lost twice in their 10 fixtures in the Champions League, both defeats came away from home against Bayer Leverkusen and Man City, they’ve made the Stade Louis II a fortress as they’ve won 4 of their 5 games.
• Juventus have built up a reputation in this season’s competition for their incredible defensive record and they extended in the quarter-final as they didn’t concede in both legs against Barcelona, where they came out 3-0 winners. They are yet to lose in Europe this season and they will look to extend this unbeaten record.
• Kylian Mbappe is having a fantastic breakthrough season and he has scored in all 4 of Monaco’s knock-out games so far in the Champions League, which has attracted the attention of some of Europe’s top clubs and could mean a mega deal is agreed in the summer.
• Paulo Dybala has been Juventus’ star boy this season and his 4 goals in the competition this season have been vital for their push for the title. They haven’t scored loads of goals in the Champions League but their sublime defence has meant they haven’t had to.

HEAD TO HEAD

Juventus and Monaco met in the Champions League back in 2015 in the quarter-final of the season’s competition. The first leg ended with Juventus winning 1-0 and the second-leg ended 0-0 seeing the Italian giants through to the semi-final. The visitors will be hoping to recreate what happened just over 2 years ago.

MONACO NEWS

It is vital for Monaco to use their home advantage in the first-leg to set-up the chance of them being able to progress in front of a daunting Juventus Stadium next Wednesday. With a fully available squad, Leonardo Jardim will be able to select his strongest side which he feels will have the greatest chance of taking a lead into a very tough second-leg. This will give them a huge boost heading into one of the biggest games in the cub’s recent history.

Latest matches: Juventus Turin

28.04.2017	Seri	Atalanta Bergamasca	Juventus Turin	2:2	D
23.04.2017	Seri	Juventus Turin	Genoa FC	4:0	W
19.04.2017	UEFA	FC Barcelona	Juventus Turin	0:0	D
15.04.2017	Seri	Pescara Calcio	Juventus Turin	0:2	W
11.04.2017	UEFA	Juventus Turin	FC Barcelona	3:0	W

JUVENTUS NEWS

Massimiliano Allegri’s side will be desperate to take a solid result back in front of their own fans for next week’s game and if they can keep a clean sheet, like they usually do, then they will definitely be in pole position. They only have 2 absences for the game as Marko Pjaca and Daniele Rugani both miss out through injury, the latter may prove to be quite a big miss for the Serie A leaders.

Latest matches: Juventus Turin

28.04.2017	Seri	Atalanta Bergamasca	Juventus Turin	2:2	D
23.04.2017	Seri	Juventus Turin	Genoa FC	4:0	W
19.04.2017	UEFA	FC Barcelona	Juventus Turin	0:0	D
15.04.2017	Seri	Pescara Calcio	Juventus Turin	0:2	W
11.04.2017	UEFA	Juventus Turin	FC Barcelona	3:0	W

SUMMING UP!

With Europe’s best attacking side coming up against Europe’s best defensive side, it could be a high-scoring game but also has potential to be a 0-0 stalemate. The first 15 minutes of the match will be vital to see who is taking a foothold on the game, it could go either way but Juventus’ defensive solidarity should be too much for the hosts and I expect Juve to grab a goal against the run of play.