Knowing that their current position in the Champions League league phase standings is nowhere near a reflection of their continental pedigree, Juventus aim for their first win of the campaign as they welcome Sporting Lisbon to Juventus Stadium on Tuesday.
The one-time European champions currently sit 25th in the table after picking up two points from their opening three fixtures, including 4-4 and 2-2 draws against PSV Eindhoven and Villarreal respectively, before losing 1-0 to Real Madrid on matchday three.
The Old Lady are also looking to ride the wave of their new manager bounce after Luciano Spalletti led them to a 2-1 league win on Saturday in his first game in charge, and the team have now won back-to-back matches, bringing an end to an eight-game winless run across all competitions.
The Portuguese visitors, on the other hand, are in a much richer vein of form, with Friday’s 2-0 victory over Alverca marking a fifth successive triumph, a sequence that also includes their 2-1 success against Marseille on matchday three of the Champions League.
Rui Borges’s men have now collected six points from their opening three outings to sit 11th in the standings, having thrashed debutants Kairat Almaty 4-1 in their opener before losing 2-1 at Napoli on matchday two.
How the bookies view it: The Old Lady about twice as likely to claim full spoils
Juventus have been given 19/20 odds, showing they have the upper hand heading into this contest, especially as their implied probability of 51.3% is nearly double that of the visitors, who are priced at 11/4 with a 26.7% chance of victory.
Head to Head: Home advantage has been crucial in the Old Lady’s success
Juventus and Sporting have met four times in competitive fixtures, with the Old Lady unbeaten in all. The Italian giants claimed wins in both their home games, first prevailing 2-1 in the 2017 Champions League clash before earning a 1-0 victory in the 2023 Europa League meeting in Turin, while both return legs ended 1-1.
Players to watch: Dusan Vlahovic holds quite a solid record in the Champions League
While Juventus’ frontline has seen several rotations across different fixtures, Dusan Vlahovic has started the last four matches. The Serbian forward boasts 11 goal involvements in 18 Champions League appearances, including a brace on matchday one of this campaign, and will be expected to continue his strong record in the elite competition.
Sporting are not short of their own Champions League standout either, with Pedro Goncalves contributing to nine goals across 16 appearances in the tournament — the most by any player in the club’s history.
Predicted line-ups
Juventus: Di Gregorio, Kalulu, Rugani, Gatti, Cambiaso, Thuram, Locatelli, Koopmeiners, Kostic; Openda, Vlahovic
Sporting Lisbon: Silva, Vagiannidis, Diomande, Inacio, Araujo, Hjulmand, Morita, Quenda, Trincao, Goncalves, Suarez
Anything else catch the eye?
Juventus’ flawless home record against Sporting is just a few of several successful outings against Portuguese opponents in Turin, with the Old Lady victorious in seven of their 11 such encounters. Meanwhile, the Lions have never won on Italian soil, losing 14 of their 18 away games against Serie A opposition, and given those statistics, another Juve victory looks likely.
The Old Lady have seen over 2.5 goals in two of their three European fixtures this season, while the visitors have recorded the same outcome in all three, suggesting the potential for an open contest.
Meanwhile, four of Vlahovic’s eight goals in the Champions League have come on in front of crowd in Turin, including his brace in Juventus’s only home match in this season’s competition, making the Serbian a strong contender to find the net again here.
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