Villarreal lock horns with Juventus at the Estadio de la Ceramica in their second fixture in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League. The hosts come into this clash in confident mood, while the Italians are looking to rediscover their early-season form.
Villarreal suffered a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in their opening fixture in the league phase. However, they have found their form since that loss, winning their last three matches across all competitions.
The Spaniards appear to be turning the Estadio de la Ceramica into a fortress, having won their last four home matches. Marcelino's team claimed a 1-0 home victory over Athletic Bilbao in a Spanish La Liga fixture last weekend.
Juventus also failed to win their opening fixture in the league phase, playing out a 4-4 draw with Borussia Dortmund. That was the start of a run of three draws for Igor Tudor's men, who were held 1-1 at home by Atalanta in an Italian Serie A clash last weekend.
The Turin club will be keen to get their campaign back on track and have done some good work on their recent travels. They are unbeaten in their last two away matches in all competitions.
How the bookies view it: Villarreal with the edge
The bookies have installed Villarreal as favourites, with a home win priced at 6/5 by BoyleSports. A victory for Juventus is valued at 11/5 while a draw is set at odds of 23/10.
Head to head: Upper hand for Villarreal
Villarreal have the upper hand in this fixture, with two wins and a draw from three previous matches. The Spaniards claimed a 3-0 away victory when both teams met in the Champions League back in 2022.
Players to watch: Eyes on Mikautadze
Georges Mikautadze often leads the line in the absence of Ayoze Perez and could be worth keeping an eye on for Villarreal. The striker is already off the mark for the season and will be keen to increase his tally (Georges Mikautadze anytime goalscorer – priced at 15/8 by BoyleSports).
Meanwhile, Dusan Vlahovic is the key man for Juventus, scoring four goals in his last six games. The Serbian striker will be keen to build on his brace against Dortmund (Dusan Vlahovic anytime goalscorer – valued at 2/1).
Probable line-ups:
Villarreal will be without Ayoze Perez, Juan Foyth, Logan Costa, Willy Kambwala, Gerard Moreno, and Pau Cabanes due to injuries. However, Santiago Mourino, Renato Veiga and Sergi Cardona are set to start in defence while Nicolas Pepe and Mikautadze should continue in attack.
For Juventus, Francisco Conceicao joins Arkadiusz Milik and Fabio Miretti on the injury list. Tudor is expected to keep Michele Di Gregorio in goal, while the trio of Federico Gatti, Gleison Bremer and Lloyd Kelly continue their defensive partnership. Vlahovic should lead the line, supported by Edon Zhegrova and Kenan Yıldız.
Villarreal: Luiz Junior, Mourino, Marin, Veiga, Cardona, Partey, Gueye, Akhomach, Solomon, Pepe, Mikautadze
Juventus: Di Gregorio, Gatti, Bremer, Kelly, Kalulu, Koopmeiners, Thuram, Cambiasso, Yildiz, Zhegrova, Vlahovic
Anything else catch the eye?
Villarreal have scored first in three of their last four home matches (Villarreal to score first – available at 4/5 on BoyleSports). Both teams have scored in Juventus' last four matches (BTTS YES – offered at odds of 8/11).
Two of Villarreal's last three home matches have produced over 2.5 goals (Over 2.5 goals – set at odds of 10/11).
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