Juventus make a potentially season-defining trip to the Stade de la Beaujoire to take on Nantes in the return leg of their evenly-poised Europa League knockout playoff tie. Thursday’s fixture in France comes at an opportune moment for Massimiliano Allegri’s charges following a 2-0 Serie A win at Spezia last weekend.
After failing to make it out of the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2013/14, Juventus have emerged as one of the leading candidates to lift the Europa League trophy. However, Ludovic Blas canceled out Dusan Vlahovic’s opener in the first leg at the Allianz Stadium last week, holding the Bianconeri to an underwhelming 1-1 draw.
Faced with the prospect of bowing out of the opening knockout tie of a major European competition for the fourth season running, Juventus might have to exercise a cautious approach at Beaujoire. Adding to this sentiment, winning the Europa League trophy for the first time since 1992/93 seems to be their best chance of securing next season’s Champions League berth.
A recent point deduction in Serie A left Juventus miles behind the top four, highlighting the significance of their Europa League campaign. However, Nantes are not messing around, even though a thumping 3-1 Ligue 1 defeat at Lens last weekend dampened the spirits in Antoine Kombouare’s corner. Vengeance could be a powerful motive, with Les Canaris yet to forget events from 27 years ago.
Indeed, Juventus denied Nantes a maiden Champions League final appearance in 1996, running out 4-3 aggregate winners in the semi-finals. Though it looks like ancient history, the French side’s long-term absence from major European competitions in the aftermath have made that heartbreak hard to forget.
Preview
Nantes
Kombouare’s men have blown hot and cold across their six competitive outings in February (W2, D2, L2 – 90mins only), with five of those matches featuring under 2.5 total goals. Nantes’ penchants for low-scoring affairs may favor Juventus, who have developed a habit of thriving in a cagey environment under Allegri.
However, Les Canaris will take the field unbeaten in three consecutive European fixtures for the first time since a run of six in 2000 (W2, D1), emphasizing confidence streaming through their veins. On top of their decent UEFA form, they’ve been defensively superior in 2023, registering three clean sheets in four home matches since the turn of the year.
Player to Watch: Ludovic Blas
Juventus already had a chance to taste Blas’ talismanic attacking presence first-hand in Turin. The 25-year-old tends to go from strength to strength in the second half of play, with his last six goals coming in or beyond the 60th minute.
Juventus
Juventus face demons from the past here, having missed out on the 2014 Europa League showpiece after going down 2-1 to Benfica on their most recent travel in Europe’s second-tier competition. But Allegri’s lads have been scoring fun on their Europa League road trips, finding the net in all 11 away matches thus far (W6, D3, L2).
If their free-scoring away form in the Europa League isn’t enough to lift confidence in the Juventus camp, a telling all-time record against French clubs in UEFA competition could do the trick (W19, D8, L8). Furthermore, that includes a win rate of 43% in away outings in the 21st century (W3, D1, L3), with all three victories followed by a clean sheet.
Player to Watch: Moise Kean
Though you might have expected to see Vlahovic, Kean could be a valid candidate to help Juventus navigate their way into the next round. The Italian striker has opened the scoring with four of his last five goals, most recently breaking the deadlock at Spezia at the weekend.
Team News
Nantes cannot call upon the services of long-term absentees Ignatius Ganago and Quentin Merlin, but they’ve welcomed lightning-fast forward Moses Simon back to the fold ahead of this clash.
As for Juventus, Arkadiusz Milik, Fabio Miretti, and Paul Pogba are still unavailable for selection, though Federico Chiesa could be back in time to make this trip.
Nantes vs Juventus Potential Lineups
Nantes (4-2-3-1): Alban Lafont; Fabien Centonze, Joao Victor, Jean-Charles Castelletto, Charles Traore; Andrei Girotto, Moussa Sissoko; Evann Guessand, Florent Mollet, Ludovic Blas; Mostafa Mohamed.
Juventus (3-5-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Gleison Bremer, Alex Sandro; Angel Di Maria, Nicolo Fagioli, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Filip Kostic; Moise Kean, Dusan Vlahovic.
Nantes vs Juventus Potential Prediction
Juventus have no margin for error if they’re to boost their bid to secure Champions League football for next season.
Though we’d stick with the Bianconeri as our preferred pick, this game has extra-time or even penalties written all over it.
Prediction: Juventus Aggregate Win
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