Tag: Cristiano Ronaldo

Juventus have been the surprise package of the Champions League this season but they are being taken very seriously now. The deservedly ran out 2-1 winners of their semi-final first leg against Real Madrid in Turin and must fancy their chances of eliminating the champions on Wednesday night.

Barcelona fell to a 3-2 defeat against Bayern Munich on Tuesday but the result of the tie was never in any doubt. A 3-0 win in the first leg have put them in an unassailable position and it was really just a case of going through the motions. There should be more fire and passion about Wednesday night’s encounter.

Juventus were cut from 9-1 to 6-1 to win the Champions League after the first leg and are only around even money to reach the final. Real Madrid are still leaning heavily on Cristiano Ronaldo, although there is a chance that Benzema may play some part here. He has been injured for around a month so I cannot see him lasting the full ninety minutes.

Juventus do welcome back Paul Pogba who scored on his return at the weekend. That should have been enough to earn his place in the starting line-up. With Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo also in the midfield, they look to have enough strength to cause the home side serious problems. Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata were outstanding in the first leg and the former is certainly worth supporting to score at some point in the match.

Real Madrid have only failed to score at home twice in the past four seasons. Ronaldo looks good value to open the scoring but I believe that Juventus have enough resilience to hold their own in this tie. They are dominant in their domestic league and there is a growing belief that Real Madrid are vulnerable.

I don’t think it will be a thrilling match so it is probably best to go low on goals and the 1-1 scoreline makes some appeal, a result that would send Juventus through to the final.

Cristiano Ronaldo to score first @10-3 Ladbrokes

Carlos Tevez to score at any time @3-1 Boylesports

Real Madrid 1 Juventus 1 @15-2 Paddy Power

Goals under 2.5 @11-10 Paddy Power

The Champions League semi-final line-up is almost as expected with Juventus the only real surprise. The Italian giants have not reached the closing stages of this tournament since 2003 and the bookmakers rank them as 9-1 outsiders to go all the way.

They host reigning champions Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday night. The closing stages of this competition can be notoriously cagey affairs, particularly in the first leg. If the quarter-finals can be taken as any guide, this game is unlikely to buck the trend.

Juventus held on by a single goal to beat Monaco while Real Madrid looked destined for extra-time in their clash with local rivals Atletico. A red card for Arda Turan with fifteen minutes to go put Atletico firmly on the back foot and Javier Hernandez struck with just two minutes remaining. The win did little to convince the bookmakers that Real are good enough to defend their title, easing them to third favourites behind Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

The value of an away goal was illustrated when Arsenal and Chelsea were both eliminated and Juventus will be intent on preventing Real from scoring. With Benzema still absent, that means that the focus will be on Cristiano Ronaldo to carry the main threat. The Serie A champions have a fine defensive record with thirteen clean sheets this season.

They are also missing a key player on Paul Pogba and they were definitely more restrained in the quarter-finals without him. Carlos Tevez will be the main threat to the Spanish defence and he has enjoyed a great tournament with six goals already to his credit. Juventus would obviously love to have a lead to take to the Bernabeau but all of the omens suggest that this is going to be very tight.

Carlo Ancelotti has great faith in his squad and will make no excuses if they are beaten here. They were the more offensive side against Atletico in both matches and they will probably enjoy more of the ball than their opponents here. Go low on goals and it may be worth taking a little of the 7-1 on offer about a goalless draw.

Juventus 0 Real Madrid 0 @7-1 Bet365

Goals under 2.5 @8-13 Bet Victor