THE crown has well and truly slipped for Juventus in Serie A but their holy grail of European conquest begins once more as they take on Villarreal in the Champions League last 16.
When Juve were romping to nine domestic titles in a row, the focus was mainly on ruling Europe but even after splashing out on Cristiano Ronaldo they couldn't lift the cup with the big ears for the first time since 1996.
Inter ended their domestic dominance last season by winning Serie A and Juventus have made a mess of winning the title back, sitting behind both Milan clubs and Napoli in the table.
But there are signs Juve are now hitting their stride under Max Allegri, with their only defeat in the last 16 games coming in extra time against Inter in the Super Cup. Our man Tolu fancied Inter to win that game but Alexis Sanchez's last-gasp winner unfortunately came too late to bring up his bets.
Juventus also topped a Champions League group containing holders Chelsea and will fancy their chances of seeing off a Villarreal side sitting sixth in La Liga.
The Yellow Submarine qualified for the last 16 thanks to an impressive win over Atalanta in Italy and have now hit a bit of form themselves after a slump at the start of 2022.
Saturday's 4-1 win at Granada made it four games without defeat and Unai Emery's men have also beaten Real Betis and drawn with Real Madrid during that run.
How the bookies view it
Juventus are odds-on favourites to reach the quarter-finals at a best 8/13 with Bet365 but their odds are longer for the first leg in Spain at 11/5 with Betfair.
Villarreal are 32/21 with SBK for a win on home soil and 7/4 at Coral to qualify for the next round. The draw at 90 minutes in El Madrigal pays 9/4 at Betfred.
Head to head
These teams have never faced off in European competition before but Villarreal have a decent record against Italian clubs. In 18 matches they have won seven, lost six and drawn five.
Juventus have played Spanish teams 75 times in Europe, winning 31 games and losing 27. The Turin giants will be looking for a repeat of their last trip to Spain after battering Barcelona 3-0 at the Nou Camp last season (below).
Players to watch
Arnaut Danjuma heads into this clash with his confidence soaring after a weekend hat-trick for Villarreal. The Dutchman also scored twice in that huge win over Atalanta and is 45/17 with SBK for anytime scorer which looks a tempting price.
Juventus will look to new signing Dusan Vlahovic for goals with Paulo Dybala an injury doubt and Federico Chiesa already ruled out. Vlahovic scored on his debut after joining from Fiorentina but has drawn three successive blanks and is 21/10 with Coral to get back on track with a goal here.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams to score has come up in the last three for Juventus but it has been a different story with Villarreal, landing just once in their last five.
Games involving Villarreal were pretty entertaining in the group stage, though, with over 2.5 goals and BTTS coming up in four of their six matches. That makes me think we might see goals here, even though first legs can often be cagey. BTTS is 19/20 at SBK which looks decent while over 2.5 strikes pays 23/18 with the same firm.
Veteran Villarreal defender Raul Albiol returns after a domestic ban and could be good value for a European card. He has picked up six yellows this term and is 3/1 with Bet365 for a card which looks quite generous.
Villarreal haven't been winning a lot of corners of late, collecting just five in total across their last two games. Juventus have 15 over their last two matches so the 17/10 on offer at BetVictor for the Serie A side to win most corners here looks a good shout.
This UEFA Champions League match between Villarreal and Juventus will be played on Feb 22, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Villarreal vs Juventus prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
