The Champions League returns to our screens for the first time in four months on Friday, with Juventus’ round of 16 second leg clash with Lyon one of two matches to be played on the day. Les Gones went into the game with a 1-0 win over the Old Lady in the first leg in February.
Juventus – whose domestic dominance hasn’t quite translated to the European stage – have been aiming to win the Champions League for some time now, falling short at every opportunity. They come into the game fresh off the back of the Serie A title, which they won despite a very poor end to the season.
Lyon cruised through the group stages – finishing just one point above the two teams below them – before pulling off a shock win over Juventus in the first leg of the round of 16. They have disappointed domestically this season, previously sitting seventh. The French league campaign ended prematurely.
When is kick off? Friday July 7th
What time is kick-off? 20:00 (BST)
Where is it played? Allianz Stadium
TV channel/live stream? BT Sport 2
It is hoped Paulo Dybala could be available for Friday’s game / Soccer Images / Getty Images
Sami Khedira, Mattia DiSciglio and Douglas Costa are unavailable through injury, although Maurizio Sarri is hopeful Paulo Dybala will be fit in time for Friday. The Argentine forward missed Juventus’ last two games of the season with a thigh injury, but has since returned to training.
Lyon will have to work with left-back Youssef Kon, who is out with a muscle injury, while Marcelo and Kenny Tate are doubts, the pair suffering from thigh and muscle problems respectively.
Juventus: Szczesny; Danilo, De Ligt, Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Pjanic, Bentancur, Rabiot; Bernardeschi, Higuain, Ronaldo.
Lyons: Lopes Markle, Denier, Anderson; Guimaraes, Dubois, Aouar, Caqueret, Cornet; Dembele, Depay
Lyon lose Coupe de Ligue final to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties / Jean Katoff / Getty Images
Juventus have endured a terrible end to their Serie A campaign, losing three of their last five, including defeats to bottom sides such as Udinese and Cagliari. In fact, Juventus have won just two of the eight games they have played over the past month, drawing two and losing four of the other six.
Lyon returned to competitive football late last month, losing 6-5 on penalties before drawing 0-0 with Paris Saint-Germain in the Coupe de Ligue final. Since the league ended in March, Les Gonzalez has also played a few friendlies to boost match fitness, winning five and losing one of them.
Here’s how the two sides have fared in their last five games.
Juventus
Juventus 1-3 rooms (1/8)
Cagliari 2-0 Juventus (7/29)
Juventus 2-0 Sampdoria (26/7)
Udinese 2-1 Juventus (7/23)
Juventus 2-1 Lazio (20/7)
Lyons
Paris Saint-Germain 0-0 Lyons [6-5 on pens] (7/31)
Antwerp 2-3 Lyons (24/7)
People 2-3 Lyons (7/22)
Lyons 2-1 Celtic (18/7)
Lyons 0-2 Rangers (7/16)
Juventus have been back playing competitive football for over a month now/Marco Bertorello/Getty Images
Despite Juventus’ disappointing form, they have the advantage of playing more competitive games than Lyon of late, as well as having a squad that is of much higher quality. However, don’t expect Rudy Garcia to make it easy for them.
Prediction: Juventus 2-0 Lyon