Juventus looked to have their Champions League tie with Tottenham in the bag early as they got out to a quick lead. However, Spurs fought back to get a 2-2 draw in Italy and are now in pole position for the second leg at home on March 7th.
What To Know About Juventus
Juventus got two goals from Gonzalo Higuain in the first nine minutes of the first leg, but they could only muster a draw and that has to be considered a huge disappointment. Juventus seemed to do what a lot of teams do and that is get a big lead, and then sit back and defend. That can be an issue if you allow the other team to get confidence and that is what happened in this game as Juventus decided to depend on their back line. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon actually had a couple saves that kept Juventus from a loss and defender Giorgio Chiellini was poor on the night and Sami Khedira struggled in midfield. Despite having two goals, Higuain could have put the tie away as he had two more chances (including a missed penalty) to score and couldn’t find a hat trick.
What To Know About Tottenham
Tottenham looked like a deer in headlights for the first 10 minutes and you might have thought that they would crumble under the pressure like previous Spurs teams have. However, Tottenham immediately got on the front foot, helped by Juventus’ willingness to sit back and defend, and Harry Kane scored in the 35th minute. Christian Eriksen scored the equalizer in the 71st minute to give Spurs two vital away goals to complete their comeback and it was a fantastic result. Tottenham obviously made some mistakes at the back and Serge Aurier was particularly bad, but they kept pushing forward. The midfield, led by Mousa Dembele, came into the game eventually and the attacking trio of Eriksen, Kane and Dele Alli were a constant menace.
Outlook
Spurs are favored at +120 to win this leg, while Juventus are rated at +240 and a draw comes in at +220. Juventus had come into this game on an 11-game winning streak overall, and this had to have taken some of the wind out of their sails. Now, they’re headed to Wimbley Stadium where Tottenham has picked up some big wins since struggling there early in the season. It started with a Champions League win over Real Madrid in November in which they ran the defending champions off the pitch. Since then, Spurs have dominated the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal at home and they’re going to be a tough matchup for Juventus, who have a big game at Lazio in Serie A just four days prior to this meeting. Meanwhile, Tottenham will have Huddersfield Town at home in the English Premier League, which means they might be able to rest some players or at least take players off before the end of the game. That gives the advantage to Tottenham, who only need to keep their nerves to win this game and go through to the next round.
Champions League Betting Pick: Tottenham
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