The Time to Shine for the Old Lady

For all their domestic dominance in Serie A, Juventus have been less than impressive in Europe over recent years. Now however, they have received a favourable draw, and could find themselves in their first semi-final since the 2002/2003 season.

Leading the Serie A by fourteen points with ten games to go, I'm sure Massimiliano Allegri is pretty confident that the Scudetto is staying in Turin and has the luxury of concentrating their efforts elsewhere. Having won the last 3 Serie A titles under fan favourite Antonio Conte, the value of domestic silverware is waning and Allegri will be hoping to restore Juventus back to the European Stage.

There is no reason why the Old Lady can reach a semi-final with a quarter final tie against Monaco. Fresh from a riveting win over Arsenal, The principality club will offer stiff opposition, not to be underestimated, as the Gunners found out in the previous round. From the first leg it was evident that the pace they have in Anthony Martial and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco are devastating when playing on the counter attack and the unpredictability that Berbatov brings will ask Juve questions that need to be answered.

The away leg first will suit the Ligue 1 side better meaning that they know what they have to do when in the home leg. For Juventus they will have to combat the pace on the flanks, through Stephan Lichsteiner and Patrice Evra. Defensively, The Turin side are solid, particularly in the league, only conceding 14 goals in 28 games domestically. Not only this season, but over the past years, Juve have had an excellent defence, compared to those of the top European sides.

Similar to Juventus, Monaco also have an exceptional defence. Coach Leonardo Jardim has transformed the defence, particularly with Aymen Abdennour at the heart. The Tunisian was a star performer in the Arsenal tie and constantly put his body on the line for his club. The defence was well organised as Alexis, Welbeck, Oxlade-Chamberlain or Walcott never faced any one on ones. If Juventus' midfield can isolate Tevez or Morata with a defender, they will have the beating of them. With Juve likely to have most of the ball, they should hope to play the ball to the feet of Tevez and look for Morata to feed off him.

At home, I expect Juventus to record a positive result. In the league they have a near flawless record, blemished by the odd draw. Since October 2010, they have only lost twice, once on penalties in the Super Cup against Napoli in late December and the second in the Coppa Italia tie versus Fiorentina at the beginning of March. This is a phenomenal record, regardless of the quality of teams in the league. Monaco will find it very hard to leave Turin with a draw, never mind a precious victory.

In the away leg, if they get a good result at home, then Juventus can return back to their stereotypically defensive side that epitomised Italian football for many years. It's a risky strategy, but with the defensive prowess of the Old Lady, I wouldn't be surprised if they were able to pull this off. Monaco seemed comfortable sacrificing possession to Arsenal - they had 43% at the Emirates and 30% at home - so expect Pogba, Pirlo, Vidal and co. to dictate the tempo of the play. A victory for Juve would pose a difficult situation for Monaco as they may have to negate their defensive duties in search of a goal. This would suit Juve, particularly through the speed of Tevez, Morata and Lichtsteiner. 

Up front, they also have a bite. Carlos Tevez has proven a useful signing, scoring 16 goals. Alvaro Morata has edged out Fernando Llorente over the last few weeks, as he offers more mobility. Llorente is often used as a go to man whenever they are in great need of a goal. His height and physicality allows the wide men to swing balls into the air, and he often delivers.

The Madrid derby will undoubtedly overshadow this, but I look forward to this just as much. Juventus adopt a 4-3-3 formation instead of the standard 3-5-2/5-3-2 that we were used to seeing during the Conte era. A 4-3-3 will match up against Monaco, who play a similar formation. Lichsteiner loves to get forward on the right, and this could be somewhere which Monaco may be able to exploit.

While Paul Pogba was an icon during previous season, his exploits this year have only added to his value. The young Frenchman is their linchpin and he will be at the centre of any European success in the next few years. Similarly, they have Kingsley Coman, a young attacker, highly rated in the Juve ranks. We know Tevez can unlock any defence as we know, and the defence is solid. It’s written in the stars for Juventus FC.

I would tip Juventus to progress to the semi-finals, as Monaco are a relatively young team, and this could be one step too far for the French side. As for the semis, I’m not convinced they are able to compete at the top level against the European elite. This is a massive opportunity for Juventus and Turin will be bouncing when Les Monegasques visit on the 14^th April.

Champions League Quarter Final Draw 2015

For the second time in three years the Champions League Quarter Final round will be an English free zone. Eight teams make up the four ties with the marquee match being the rematch of last years final, an all Madrid derby. Here, I'll offer you my predictions as to how I think this round will pan out.

Paris Saint-Germain v Barcelona

Both teams met against each other in the group stages with each side picking up a victory. PSG have two team of the year centre backs, but Messi and co will be looking to exploit this considering David Luiz is likely to play. The first leg in Paris will suit PSG, as a positive result would mean they have everything to go and defend for in the Nou Camp. For Barcelona they will definitely target Luiz and try to pull him out of position and this shouldn't be too hard considering the wealth of talent at the disposal of the Catalan giants. Both sides play similar 4-3-3 formations with Marco Veratti playing similar role to Sergio Busquests in the middle of the park. I do think the first leg will be a tentative, cagey affair with the game in the group stages fresh in Barca minds and PSG not wanting to concede an away goal. I think PSG will come win at home, leaving a enthralling encounter to be had at the Nou Camp but I do believe Enrique's Barca will come through the tie as their class and panache will be evident in the second leg.

Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid
Atleti want to banish those memories of Lisbon 2014 when Real ran riot in extra time to score three unanswered goals and clinch La Decima. For Real, they want to avenge the 4-0 drubbing their opponents dished out last month in February. Atleti know how to beat their City rivals, having only lost to them once in the last seven matches. The Rojiblancos scraped through a tie against German side, Bayer Leverkusen on penalties and will certainly need to play a lot better if they are going to out muscle their city counterparts. As for Los Merengues, a comfortable away win against Schalke was enough to secure a victory in the tie even though they lost in the home leg. Madristas expressed their frustration at the final whistle of the game with the waving of white tissues in the air. Carlo Ancelotti will now be feeling the pressure. It's predictable how Simeone will line up his side, defensive and solid - not looking to concede and looking to punish on the counter. Ronaldo and co. will have the majority of possession but it will be what they do with the ball that determines the outcome of the tie. I will not be surprised if this goes the full distance but do think Atleti will edge out Real and hammer the final nail into the coffin of Carlo Ancelotti.

Porto v Bayern Munich
On paper this match looks incredibly one sided, but having rarely witnessed Porto play, it's difficult to say whether this is true or not. A draw for Porto in the first leg, preferably goalless, would deny Bayern the away goal which could be a deciding factor in the tie. . By the time the tie comes around, Bayern will be able to rest a few key players in domestic fixtures in order to prepare for the game. On the other hand, Porto have everything to play for in the Portuguese league and they trail Benfica who are on top of the pile by four points. The Portuguese side have a few useful operators in their ranks, including Casemiro, the loanee from Madrid, Bruno Martins Indi and Jackson Martinez. Casemiro is a sturdy defensive midfielder with a useful shot on him, but his discipline can let him down sometimes. Up front, Martinez is an experienced striker who knows where the goal is. I am confident in predicting a comfortable Bayern win and passage into their fourth semi final in since 2010.

Juventus v Monaco
Probably noted as a tie that not many will take an interest in, I think Juventus versus Monaco has to be taken seriously. It's a tie that both sides have the potential to win. Juventus have completed domestic domination in Italy, but have not been able to translate their supremacy in Serie A to Europe.  At the start of the season, Monaco were faltering and losing games, now however, Leonardo Jardim has turned them into a defensively solid unit - they have just lost three of their last 23 games in all competitions in regulation time, conceding just nine goals over that spell. Impressive. Juventus are also defensively solid, having kept nineteen clean sheets already this season and haven't conceded since a 2-1 home loss against Fiorentina on 5th March. Monaco have pace in Fererra-Carrasco and Anthony Martial up front, mixed with the guile and charisma of Dimi Berbatov. It will be interesting to see how this progresses against, Chiellini and Bonucci. Paul Pogba has been majestic this season and is certainly the jewel in the Old Lady's crown, but Monaco have a similar type of player in Geoffrey Kondogbia. I'm looking forward to this tactical tie, and think the match winners in Tevez and Pogba will keep the Italian flag flying in this years edition.

For the likes of Monaco and Porto, not many people expected them to get to the quarters and be in with a shout. I don't think we will see any exceedingly one sided ties in this round, and there is the possibility of an upset. Even if Monaco do not progress, they will have reached expectations in the tournament and with a young squad, it won't be the last we hear of them. First leg ties will be played the week commencing the 13th April with the return legs on 22nd April.