By Ian Palmer
Juventus vs Monaco Betting Preview: bet365 lists Juventus as the favorites in this match as they’re 4/9 to win with Monaco 7/1 and a draw at 16/5 .
The European Champions League quarterfinals start on Tuesday, April 14 with Italian Serie A leaders and reigning champions Juventus hosting French Ligue 1 club Monaco in Turin. Juventus heads into the game following a 1-0 defeat to last-place Parma in Serie A over the weekend in a game they may have taken too lightly while looking ahead to the clash with Monaco. Juventus is attempting to hoist the European cup for the first time since 1996 while Monaco has never won the Champions League. The last time Juventus reached the semifinal stage was in the 2002/03 season when they finished the tournament as runners up.
Juventus reached the final eight this year after beating German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund 5-1 on aggregate. The Italian leaders have won four of their past five Champions League outings and are unbeaten in their seven home outings. Juventus had won six straight games until running into Parma over the weekend, but they’ve won nine out of their past 10 at home in all competitions with three consecutive clean sheets. It looks like Paul Pogba and Martin Caceras will be missing from the squad for the game, but Argentine striker Carlos Tevez should be back in the team after missing the loss to Parma.
Monaco still has a shot at winning the French league this year even though they’ve tightened the money belt and allowed Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez to play elsewhere this season. However, the French league is quite tight at the moment and there’s a chance Monaco may not even qualify for the Champions League next season if they slip down the standings between now and the end of the campaign. Monaco made the quarterfinals by drawing 3-3 on aggregate with English Premier League club Arsenal. They won the first leg 3-1 in London and dropped their home match 2-0. But this was enough to see them advance due to the controversial away-goals rule.
Monaco heads into Turin with two straight road wins in the champions League, over German Bundesliga team Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal. They’re undefeated in their past four outings in all competitions since losing to Arsenal, with two wins and two draws in that span. Their last encounter was a 3-0 French league victory at Caen on April 10. They’ve won three straight away games in all competitions and five of their past six. In four of their last five away contests Monaco has managed to score three goals.
These two teams met in the 1997/98 Champions League semifinals with Juventus coming out on top 6-4 on aggregate. Juventus won 4-1 at home and were beaten 3-2 in Monaco. bet365 lists Juventus as the favorites in this match as they’re 4/9 to win with Monaco 7/1 and a draw at 16/5 .