On Paper Real Madrid look the more stronger team as they are on a mission to win back to back Champions League which no European team has ever done in this league. Juventus on the other hand would be looking to stop Real Madrid from achieving that feat and make it to the finals and possibly go on and win the trophy, the last time the Italian side reached the finals was in 2002-2003 when they lost to rivals AC Milan in a penalty shoot-out.
Both teams domestically are doing exceptional, in Juventus case winning the Serie A for the fourth time in a row a magnificent feat which no other team in Italy has ever done domestically. Real Madrid on the other hand sit in second place two points shy of leaders Barcelona. It will be a true test of their character to see if they can stay focused in the latter stages of the season and not slip up their chances to win the La Liga.
These two sides have met in the past quite a few times in this grand stage playing each other 17 times and surprisingly both teams share the spoils with 8 wins apiece drawing once and both losing 8 times respectively. The first times these two sides met was way back in 1962 in which Real Madrid won the game 1-0. The most recent match between these two European powerhouses was in 2013 where they both drawn together in the same group and in those two group-stage fixtures Real Madrid narrowly won the home game 2-1 and the game played in Turin was a goalscoring draw 2-2.
Both teams progression through the Semi-Finals were of narrow margins. Juventus progressing by beating the French side AS Monaco 1-0 in the first leg through a Arturo Vidal Penalty and playing a very organized, stubborn defending goalless draw in their away game was enough to see them through. Real Madrid on the other hand even through they progressed through to the semis but it was a solitary goal from Manchester United loanee Javier Hernandez in dying moments in the second league to see them march on, having said that Real Madrid had a catalogue of chances in both the legs only to be denied by brilliant goalkeeping from Atletico Madrid shot stopper Jan Oblak.
With the first leg set to take place tomorrow in Turin. Juventus will be looking to avoid conceding an away goal to Real Madrid. Juventus in their 10 matches played till now in the Champions League have scored only 15 goals fourteen goals lesser than their opposition Real Madrid who have been scoring goals at will this season, a total of 29 goals scored till now for the Madrid side. In term of goals conceded Juventus solid and air-tight defence have conceded only 5 goals till this stage as opposed to Real Madrid who have conceded seven goals. The top goal scorer for the Italian giants in this league is Carlos Tevez scoring 6 goals in his ten games and providing one assist. The top scorer for Real Madrid is none other than Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 8 goals in his ten games and providing 4 assists.
Both these sides have a few injury concerns to deal with for Juventus they will be without the services of French midfielder Paul Pogba who is out with a hamstring injury a key player who has been outstanding this season for their side. Real Madrid will be with out French striker Karim Benzema and Croatian Luka Modric. Gareth Bale who was injured last month has recovered in time as he played this week against Sevilla.
The Key players for both these sides:
The meanest defence in Europe versus the free-scoring team in Europe. Many punters have dismissed Juventus chances of progressing through to the finals. Even though this fixture might slightly be in Real Madrid's favour the Italian side is going to give them a run for their money cause Juventus in the past few years have obliterated their opponents in their domestic league and will have set their sights now on dominating Europe. They have conquered Italy now it's time for them to take over Europe. Real Madrid will be looking to create history by being the first side to win the Champions League twice a feat achieved by no European team ever.
It would be to harsh to brand this fixture as David and Goliath, but when you look at the money spent by both these teams to bring in players in case for Real Madrid they sign world class quality and that of course costs a lot of money. In the last two seasons Juventus have spent a total of 56.4 million on transfers but when compared to Real Madrid it's a different league. Real Madrid's Gareth Bale costs twice as much as what Juventus have spent in the past two years in the transfer market. In the last two they have spent a whopping 297.5 million to create a new breed of"GALACTICOS".
Whether you support either of these two teams or neither both, as a football fan games like these never disappoint you. Who will strike the first blow?will it be the raging bulls from Madrid or the stubborn Italians from Turin? Guess we'll have to wait and watch to find out.
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