Italy’s former series champion draws his strength from small successes these days. After beating Empoli 4-0 last Friday, they have two wins in a row in Serie A for the first time this season. Eighth is Juventus for the time being. “We’ve made progress. Just being able to keep up the pace in the second half is a good sign,” said Massimiliano Allegri. His eleven now look “more like a team”, said the Juventus coach.
Juventus lost 2-1 at home to Benfica in the first leg. The games against outsiders Haifa resulted in a home win (3:1) and an away defeat (0:2). The performance at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon is doubly important, according to Allegri: “We’re not out of the Champions League yet and we haven’t qualified for the Europa League yet.” It’s important to be confident. As usual, Paul Pogba and Federico Chiesa, who are working on their comebacks, will not be there.
Most recently, nine years ago, under Antonio Conte, Juve failed to get promoted in the group stage of the premier class. Benfica’s form also speaks against Turin. The hosts under coach Roger Schmidt, who was hired in the summer, are unbeaten in 19 competitive games. In the Champions League, the “Adler” and PSG have eight points, while in the domestic league Benfica scooped 28 out of a possible 30 points.
Leipzig welcomes defending champion Real
The defending champions in Group F can take it easy. Real Madrid are already in the round of 16 before the away game against RB Leipzig (9 p.m.). The Spaniards traveled to Leipzig without Ballon d’Or winners Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Fede Valverde. Benzema was absent in the 3-1 league win against Sevilla FC due to a muscle injury. Valverde took a hit in the leg and is sidelined. The former world footballer Modric was removed from the squad at the last minute, Real did not give the reasons for this.
David Alaba and Co. meet the first pursuer. Leipzig is second in the group with six points. They are followed by Shakhtar Donetsk with five points, the Ukrainians – they visit Celtic Glasgow on Tuesday – have the Saxons as guests on the last day of the game. RB coach Marco Rose said about the opponent’s failures: “There are still one or the other. We’ll meet the best squad in the world.” Striker Timo Werner is back in his squad. Leipzig lost 2-0 in Madrid and conceded the goals late.
Manchester City visiting Dortmund
Manchester City has also already fixed the leap into the top 16 teams, in Group G the “Citizens” are playing with star striker Erling Haaland at his former club Borussia Dortmund. At the weekend, the Norwegian scored twice again in the 3-1 win over Brighton. “He can do it when he has a lot of space, but he can also do it when he has little space. That’s the reality, it’s fantastic,” enthused City coach Josep Guardiola.
In the 2-1 win against Dortmund in the first leg, Haaland scored the winning goal in an artistic manner. The German Bundesliga side (7 points) are on course as runners-up in the Champions League. Depending on the outcome of the parallel game between FC Sevilla and FC Copenhagen (2 points each), a draw could already be enough for promotion.
