Europa League: Juventus FC vs Sporting CP - Match Preview And Free Prediction 13/04/2023
On Thursday, the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals begin with Juventus, Italian giants, hosting Sporting of Portugal at the Allianz Stadium.
Sporting defeated Premier League champions Arsenal to go to the quarterfinals, while Juventus eliminated SC Freiburg to secure their spot in the last eight.
Next Thursday's second leg means that both teams will likely approach the first leg cautiously. Juventus will be eager to grab the upper hand in front of their home supporters, though.
After losing 2-1 to Lazio on Saturday, Juventus dropped to seventh place in the Serie A standings, eight points outside the Champions League spots. After drawing 1-1 with Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia last week, Max Allegri's team has already dropped their last two games.
Juventus began the season in the Champions League, but after slipping to third place in Group H after losing five of their six group games, they were moved to the Europa League.
The Old Lady will look to defeat Sporting after cruising over their Europa League opponents thus far, defeating Nantes 4-1 and Freiburg 3-0.
Sporting made its Champions League debut this season, similar to Juventus. Nevertheless, after earning seven out of a possible 18 points, they came in third in Group D.
The Portuguese team upset Arsenal on penalties in the first round of the Europa League before defeating Midtjylland 5-1 on aggregate in the play-offs.
Sporting defeated Casia Pia 4-3 last time out, extending their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 11 games, in large part due to a hat-trick from Francisco Trincao.
The Lions should advance far in the Europa League this season with only three losses in their previous 26 games across all competitions.
Head-to-head: Juventus and Sporting have only ever faced off in the group stages of the 2017–18 Champions League.
Juventus defeated Sporting 2-1 in Italy before playing to a 1-1 draw in Portugal, keeping their perfect record in this matchup.
Team news: Mattia De Sciglio and Kaio Jorge appear to be out for the opening leg of the match for Juventus due to injuries.
Jovane Cabral and Daniel Braganca are now out for Sporting due to injuries, and Paulinho is questionable for Thursday's match.
Even if Sporting is currently on a stunning run, Juventus is predicted to triumph at the Allianz Stadium.
