UCL Preview 2021-22: Juventus vs Chelsea – key stats, H2H, line-ups, prediction

Paulo Dybala-Juventus

Juventus are set to host reigning champions Chelsea in their second group stage game of the Champions League.

Venue: Allianz Stadium

Key Statistics

  • Juventus have won 11 of their 12 games in the Champions League group stage, with the only defeat coming against Barcelona at home last year.
  • Elsewhere, Chelsea’ record in the group stage is also impressive, having lost only three of the last 32 games ( 20 W 9 D)
  • Both sides were victorious in the opening match of the UCL this season.

Head to Head record

The score is tied in terms of head to head records, with both teams picking up a win apiece in four games they have played. The last encounter between these two was in the 2012/13 season, with Juve getting the better of the Londoners.

Recent form

Juventus: L W D W W

Chelsea: W W W W L

Juventus

Despite their rocky start to the season, Juventus have found their groove after three straight wins across all the competition.

Their recent victory came against Sampdoria in the weekend Serie A game in which Paulo Dybala, Manuel Locatelli and Leonardo Bounnci found the scoresheet.

The Old Lady produced their first win of the season against Malmo in their UCL opener.

However, Dybala and Alvaro Morata’s absence due to injuries could be a huge blow for Max Allegri’s side when they host reigning champions Chelsea.

Possible line-ups

Wojciech Szczesny; Alex Sandro, Matthijs de Ligt, Leonardo Bonucci, Juan Cuadrado; Rodrigo Bentancur, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Federico Chiesa; Dejan Kulusevski, Moise Kean

Chelsea 

Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea looked as invincibles until they suffered a defeat against Manchester City at the weekend, which also marked their first loss of the season.

Nonetheless, the Blues are still the favourites for the tie against the Bianconeri as well as to retain the Champions League crown.

The Londoners’ impeccable record in the UCL under Thomas Tuchel – no defeats since taking over at Stamford Bridge, could certainly spell danger for Bianconeri, whose wait for the Champions League crown keeps on evading.

Possible line-ups

Edouard Mendy; Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante; Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz, Romelu Lukaku

Prediction

Juventus 1 – 0 Chelsea