After playing out a stalemate in the first meeting, Nantes and Juventus square off again in the second leg of their Europa League knockout playoff. The Turin club are still the favourites to progress and should have too much for Nantes, who have found things difficult at home lately.
Nantes will be pleased to have held out for the 1-1 scoreline in the first meeting in Italy. They fell behind early in the contest and rode their luck a few times before Ludovic Blas struck the equaliser midway through the second half.
The French side did not have the best build up to Thursday’s second leg as they were beaten 3-1 at Lens in Ligue 1 last Sunday. However, they will still be feeling confident as that was their first defeat in the last five matches across all competitions.
While Nantes will be feeling positive ahead of Thursday’s clash, their recent record at the Stade de la Beaujoire might give them push. Antoine Kombouare’s men have claimed just two wins in their last seven home matches across all competitions, failing to score in two of the last three fixtures in that run.
Juventus will be kicking themselves for not claiming the advantage after dominating the first meeting. They had numerous chances to score with Federico Chiesa also hitting the woodwork but, in the end, Dusan Vlahovic’s early effort was cancelled out by the French side.
The good thing for Juventus is that they made a swift return to winning ways last Sunday, picking up a 2-0 victory at Spezia with Moise Kean and Angel Di Maria getting the goals. Massimiliano Allegri’s men are now unbeaten in last five matches, claiming four wins in that run.
Juventus have also impressed on their recent travels, winning six of their last seven away matches across all competitions. That run has been driven by a solid defence that has kept clean sheets in all six wins.
How the bookies view it
Juventus have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 10/11 with William Hill. Nantes are outsiders at home at 18/5 with Coral while a draw is set at odds of 13/5 by Unibet.
Head to head
Last week's 1-1 draw was the first ever meeting between Nantes and Juventus.
Players to watch
Juventus will be relying on their sturdy defence that has impressed in recent weeks. Gleison Bremer has been pivotal lately and can guide the Turin club to a seventh clean sheet in eight matches at 6/5 with bet365.
At the other end of the pitch, Dusan Vlahovic has been slowly returning to his best form and will be the one to watch for Juventus. The Serbian striker has three goals in his last five matches and is priced at 6/4 with Betfred.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given Juventus’ defensive solidity and with Nantes struggling for goals at home lately, BTTS NO can be considered at 4/5 with BetVictor. The Turin club have won to nil in six of their last seven away matches and could be set for a similar outcome at 39/20 with Unibet.
Dusan Vlahovic opened the scoring in the first leg and could be tipped to grab the first goal once again at 4/1 with bet365.
This UEFA Europa League match between Nantes and Juventus will be played on Feb 23, 2023 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Nantes vs Juventus prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
