One of the more intriguing matchups in the Champions League round of 16 will kick off in Italy as Juventus hosts Tottenham. Juventus has fallen off a bit, while Tottenham are on the rise, but you never know what will happen over these two-legged ties. The first leg is on February 13th.
What To Know About Tottenham
Tottenham topped Group H with five wins and a draw, scoring 15 goals and allowing four. Harry Kane has scored six goals for his team, with three goals going to Son Heung-Min and Dele Alli has added a pair. Tottenham looked very impressive in a win and a draw with Real Madrid, and they made the defending Champions League winners look silly in a 3-1 win at home. When Spurs are on, they can be fun to watch with Kane up front and Alli right behind him, while Christian Eriksen is very important as well as he pulls the strings in midfield. The big question comes at the back, where Tottenham hopes that Toby Alderweireld will be ready to return from a hamstring injury. They can compete without him, but Spurs are a much better defensive team if they can have Alderweireld back there.
What To Know About Juventus
Juventus finished second to Barcelona in Group D with three wins, two draws and a loss, and they scored just seven goals while allowing five. Mario Mandzukic and Gonzalo Higuain both scored two goals for Juventus, and you would think that they would be able to score more; Paulo Dybala played in all six group-stage games and led the team in shots, yet failed to find the back of the net. But Juventus can score one goal and then shut you down, led by the timeless Gianluigi Buffon in goal, Andrea Barzagli in defense and the likes of Sami Khedira in midfield. Juventus might not be the most entertaining team to watch, but they can get the job done and that is all you need to do once you get to the knockout portion of the Champions League.
Outlook
Juventus are favored at home at -118, while Tottenham comes in at +320 and a draw is rated at +250. This is the first time that Juventus and Tottenham have faced each other in Europe, and it’ll be interesting to see how these teams line up. Even at home, Juventus might sit back and allow Tottenham to have possession, and then try to hit them on the counterattack because Spurs can be scored on. But they have to figure out how to handle Kane, Alli and Eriksen and that might depend largely on their midfielders. On the other end, Juventus’ strikers might want to be physical with Tottenham’s back line because that has proven to be successful in the past for other teams. This is a true 50/50 matchup and it could be cagey at the beginning before opening up a bit, and it’ll probably be pretty close as the two head to London for the second tie.
Champions League Pick: Draw
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