Juventus vs. Barcelona 10/28/20 UEFA Champions League Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Juventus is welcoming Barcelona to Allianz Stadium in round 2 in the UEFA Champions League.

Juventus is undefeated in their last 8 games, but they also have 3 draws in their last 5 games. Juventus is playing well, but they are struggling with injuries, and Ronaldo has tested positive for Coronavirus once again, and he will not be playing in this game. Juventus was playing against Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League last week, and they have had 53% of ball possession, 6 shots on goal, 5 corner kicks, 3 big chances created, and a solid 87% of the correct passes. Juventus was the better team in this match, but it took them a while to score a goal. In the 46th minute, Juventus got ahead, and they have scored another goal in the 84th minute. Juventus has won this match 0-2. Morata is the leading goalscorer for Juventus with 2 goals in the Champions League, while Cuadrado added 1 assist. Alongside Ronaldo, De Ligt, Sandro, Chiellini, and Bonucci are all injured, which means Juventus’ defense has been decimated. Juventus was playing against Verona last weekend in Serie A, and that game ended in a draw. Juventus looks good under the new coach, and once their players recover from the injuries, Juventus will be even stronger.

Barcelona is in solid form, but there have been a few things that could shake their morale recently. First, Barcelona lost to Real Madrid 1-3 last weekend, and there have been a few questionable decisions from the referee in that game, while earlier this week Barcelona’s president and the entire board resigned from the club. The second thing might actually be a good thing because Barcelona hasn’t made any progress since those people were in charge. In their Champions League game against Ferencvarosi last week, Barcelona was the dominant team with 61% of ball possession, 11 shots on goal, 5 corner kicks, 3 big chances created, and high 90% of the correct passes. Barcelona has won this match 5-1 despite conceding a red card in the 68th minute. Messi, Fati, Coutinho, Pedri, and Dembele have each scored 1 goal for Barcelona in the Champions League, while Messi, Dembele, Fati, and De Jong each added 1 assist. Ter Steagen, Coutinho, and Umtiti are injured, while Pique is suspended because of the red card. As I’ve mentioned earlier, Barcelona has a lot of issues outside the team, and Messi is still not playing at his usual level, but I know that it’s only a matter of time before that changes.

Juventus has a lot of injuries, and their defense is in bad shape, and while Barcelona isn’t great, I see them dominating in this game. The trends are on Barcelona’s side, and we are getting them at a great price here. I will side with Barcelona because they will look to bounce back after their loss to Real Madrid.