Juventus vs Manchester United - Competition: UEFA Champions League
Date: 7 November 2018 - Kick-off Time: 20:00 GMT - 21:00 CET
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Torino
Juventus claimed a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford a fortnight ago, and
maintained their 100 per cent winning record in Champions League this
season, having already beaten Valencia (0-2 away) and Young Boys (3-0 at
home) in the first two fixtures. They are one of only two teams yet to
concede in the competition. Furthermore, Juve haven't lost a Champions
League group stage match at home since December 2009. The Old Lady also
top the Italian Serie A table 6 points clear of SSC Napoli and Inter, having
dropped only two points so far after 11 matches when held 1-1 at home by
Genoa.
Juventus team are in the middle of an injury crisis. Emre Can,
Federico Bernardeschi, Douglas Costa and Moses Kean are all injured
while Joao Cancelo and Giorgio Chiellini are major doubts. Plus,
Leonardo Spinazzola is unlikely to be involved due to a lack of match
fitness. Manager Massimiliano Allegri is likely to play with a 4-3-3
formation, opting for the "heavy tridente" upfront formed by Mario
Mandzukic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala. The likes of Sami
Khedira, Rodrigo Betancur and Miralem Pjanic will anchor the midfield.
Manchester United team extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to four matches
with their 2-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday. Anyway, Jose Mourinho's
men were exposed on too many occasions and would have been out of the
match by half-time had the Cherries taken their chances. In UCL, the Red Devils are second in the table with four points (two
ahead of Valencia) after the Spanish outfit surprisingly only managed a
draw with group minnows Young Boys last time out. They were outclassed
in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford two weeks ago despite narrowly
losing to Juve (0-1).
Josè Mourinho dropped Lukaku from
United's squad entirely for the weekend's win at Vitality Stadium but
the Belgian is expected to lead the line at the Allianz Stadium, flanked
by Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez. The likes of Juan Mata and
Marcus Rashford provide further offensive options. Ander Herrera is
expected to join Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic in the middle of the park
while Victor Lindelof is favourite over Phil Jones and Eric Bailly for
the centre back spot alongside Chris Smalling. Antonio Valencia,
Marouane Fellaini and Diogo Dalot remain sidelined.
Probable lineups:
Juventus: Szczesny – Cancelo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Alex Sandro – Bentancur, Pjanic, Matuidi – Cuadrado, Dybala, Ronaldo.
Manchester United: de Gea – Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw – Fred, Matic, Pogba – Rashford, Lukaku, Martial.