Real Madrid vs Juventus Preview: Odds, Tips and Prediction

Real Madrid have begun to gain momentum as we approach the business end of the competition, during the knockout stages of the FIFA Club World Cup. Los Blancos shared the spoils with Al-Hilal in their Group H opener after promising young striker Gonzalo Garcia’s goal was followed by Ruben Neves’ equaliser from the penalty spot.

The Saudi Arabian club were rescued by their goalkeeper Yassine Bounou in the final minutes of the encounter, making an incredible save to deny Real Madrid captain Federico Valverde from 12 yards out.

In their second match, Real Madrid seemed much more settled against Mexican Liga MX club C.F. Pachuca, despite being forced to play more than 80 minutes with 10 men after central defender Raul Asensio was shown a straight red card.

Following Asensio’s suspension, manager Xabi Alonso was forced to adjust his team’s formation for their final Group H match. Alonso opted for the 3-4-3 system, which brought him much success in the German Bundesliga at the helm of Bayer Leverkusen.

Fran Garcia and new arrival Trent Alexander-Arnold were dispatched in wing-back roles, flanking a back-three of Antonio Rudiger, new signing Dean Huijsen and makeshift defender Aurelien Tchouameni.
The pairing of Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham in the heart of midfield, while striker Gonzalo Garcia was complemented by the pace of Arda Guler and Vinicius Junior in attack.

Real Madrid seemed to have much more fluidity in this system, giving their best performance to date under the tutelage of Alonso. Running out (3-0) winners against RB Salzburg with Vinicius Junior, Valverde and Garcia finding the back of the net in style.
Not getting carried away with his team’s performance, Alonso emphasized the importance of being professional, “Once you get past the group stage, every match feels like a final. Juve is Juve, they are a historic club in Europe.”

As a player, Alonso represented Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Real Sociedad while playing against Juventus on five separate occasions, but has only found himself on the winning side once. En route to Liverpool’s historic 2004/05 UEFA Champions League title, the Reds were victorious in the first leg of their quarter-final clash against Juventus. 

Former Croatian defender Igor Tudor was tasked with steering Juventus to UEFA Champions League qualification for their last eight Serie A matches. After being appointed manager, Tudor suffered only one defeat in this period, enough to suggest that he’s the right man for the job permanently.
In their Group G opener, Juventus outclassed Asian minnows Al-Ain (5-0). Randal Kolo Muani scored twice as Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao added their names to the scoresheet to give the Old Lady a comfortable 4-0 lead at the half-time break in Washington D.C.

Against CAF heavyweights Wydad Casablanca, Juventus were presented with a tougher task but displayed their quality once again and eventually ran out (4-1) winners courtesy of a Kenan Yildiz brace.

However, in their final Group G encounter, Juventus were put to the sword against a dominant Manchester City team who seem like clear favourites to lift this cup. Attempting to play out from the back, goalkeeper Ederson gifted Teun Koopmeiners a goal in the early stages of the match to give the Italian giants a glimmer of hope.

Juventus had to put in a solid shift to contain the rampant Man City midfield and failed miserably, resulting in a (5-2) loss, and despite Dusan Vlahovic pulling back a goal in the second half, the damage was already done. 

Following the defeat, manager Tudor stated, “Congratulations to them, this is an ugly result, and we really do not like it. They have enormous quality, character, everything. We wanted to push forward, but we could not get the ball back off them. Then we sat too deep, and they scored. At this moment, they are at a different level to us.”

Nevertheless, Tudor remains positive ahead of their clash with Real Madrid claiming, “You can do anything in football, even beat a team of another level, but in order to do that, you must be complete, fresh, playing well. This is what makes football the beautiful game.”