Chelsea visit the Allianz Stadium in Turin in Group H’s most anticipated encounter, as the Juventus look to build upon their positive victory over Malmo on the previous Champions League matchday.
This will be the fifth meeting between the two in the continental tournament, with both teams having won one clash each and rest two being draws.
PREVIEW
Juventus welcome the Blues after grabbing their second consecutive Serie A win of the campaign on the back of their disappointing start to the season. Incidentally the Bianconeri’s first win of the season arrived in their first group match against Malmo – a 3-0 victory at the Eleda Stadion in Sweden.
The Italians will be hoping to continue their decent form in the group stages, having won 11 of their last 12 group matches with seven clean sheets overall.
Chelsea on the other hand, have a similar but more impressive group stage record – losing just three of the last 32 (W20, D9, L3) and none in their last 12 group matches (W8, D4, L0).
However, the Blues come into the clash on the back of a disappointing tactical tussle against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, a 1-0 loss at home.
Juventus have won seven Champions League matches against the reigning champions in any given season – only Real Madrid winning more (11) – and will look to make it five out of six wins at home against the title holders.
If Juventus do win on Wednesday evening, they will extend their unbeaten record against Chelsea to four games. However, they will be put to the test against former Nerazzurri striker Romelu Lukaku, who returns to Italy for the first time since his big money move from Inter.
PREVIOUS RESULTS
Juventus – L, W, D, W, W
Chelsea – W, W, W, W, L
EXPECTED LINEUPS & TEAM NEWS
Juventus
Massimiliano Allegri will deeply feel the loss of two of his star forwards – Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala, both having sustained hamstring and thigh injuries respectively against Sampdoria. With the duo missing out, we can expect Federico Chiesa to have Moise Kean and Dejan Kulusevski on either side of him in a 4-3-3 set up.
Veterans Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini are expected to pair up as centre-backs after the latter lost his spot on the weekend to Matthijs De Ligt.
4-3-3 – Perin; Danilo, Chiellini, Bonucci, Sandro; Bentancur, Locatelli, Ramsey; Chiesa, Kean, Kulusevski
Chelsea
Reece James picked up an injury against Manchester City after twisting his ankle, allowing captain Cesar Azpilicueta to regain his place as the wing back. Tuchel is expected to utilize a three-man defence shielded by a four-man midfield manned centrally by Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic.
Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic remain doubtful for the clash with minor injuries.
3-4-3 / 3-5-2 – Mendy; Christensen, T. Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kovacic, Jorginho, Alonso; Havertz, Lukaku, Werner
PREDICTION: Juventus 1-2 Chelsea
Although Chelsea stuttered against Manchester City in the Premier League, they could prove to be lethal to Juventus on the break, especially with the Bianconeri having not faced a team of Chelsea’s reputation until now this season. Thomas Tuchel might just edge Allegri on this one.