Juventus will host Lyon in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg at the Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
The Bianconeri will have their task cut out as they seek to overturn a 1-0 deposit from the first leg.
Despite dominating possession in the first leg, the Serie A champions suffered a surprising 1-0 defeat against the French side back in late February.
Lucas Tousart’s expertly taken shot from close range made all the difference, with Paulo Dybala missing a golden opportunity to put Juve on level terms.
Juventus have had a strange campaign so far as they never seemed to maximize their full potential but still managed to extend their domestic dominance by winning their ninth straight Serie A title.
On the contrary, Lyon finished their Ligue 1 campaign in seventh place, failing to secure a European spot for next season as France’s top-flight football was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, Lyon have to play out of their skin against Juventus as the record book shows that in the last ten away knockout fixtures, the League 1 side have failed to register a single win in Europe.
Juventus vs Lyon: The road to Round of 16
Juventus
18 September 2019: Atletico Madrid 2-2 Juventus (Group D fixture)
1 October 2019: Juventus 3-0 Bayer Leverkusen (Group D fixture)
22 October 2019: Juventus 2-1 Lokomotiv Moscow (Group D fixture)
6 November 2019: Lokomotiv Moscow 1-2 Juventus (Group D fixture)
26 November 2019: Juventus 1-0 Atletico Madrid (Group D fixture)
11 December 2019: Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 Juventus (Group D fixture)
26 February 2020: Lyon 1-0 Juventus (Round of 16, 1st leg)
The Serie A giants remained unbeaten in the Champions League group stages and sweated very little to secure the top spot. In all the group fixtures, Maurizio Sarri’s men successfully managed to break the deadlock and scored at least one goal.
The only group game where Juve failed to come away with all the three points was against Atletico Madrid back in the first matchday of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League campaign.
Lyon
17 September 2019: Lyon 1-1 Zenit St. Petersberg (Group G fixture)
2 October 2019: RB Leipzig 0-2 Lyon (Group G fixture)
23 October 2019: Benfica 2-1 Lyon (Group G fixture)
5 November 2019: Lyon 3-1 Benfica (Group G fixture)
27 November 2019: Zenit St. Petersberg 2-0 Lyon (Group G fixture)
10 December 2019: Lyon 2-2 RB Leipzig (Group G fixture)
26 February 2020: Lyon 1-0 Juventus (Round of 16, 1st leg)
Lyon’s 16th UEFA Champions League campaign has produced a series of mixed fortunes. The Ligue 1 side have squeezed into the Round of 16 as Group G runners-up, having picked up only eight points in six games.
Juventus vs Lyon head-to-head record and form guide
Juventus, historically, have the advantage over Lyon in head-to-head statistics. The Bianconeri have come out on top in three out of the five occasions they have faced Les Gones in the past.
In fact, Lyon’s narrow 1-0 victory in the first leg recorded their first triumph over the Serie A giants.
Meanwhile, the Turin-based club are unbeaten in their two home European games against Lyon, winning 2-1 back in April 2014 in the Europa League, and drawing 1-1 in the Champions League in November 2016.
Juventus vs Lyon: Last five meetings
26 February 2020: Lyon 1-0 Juventus (UEFA Champions League)
02 November 2016: Juventus 1-1 Lyon (UEFA Champions League)
18 October 2016: Lyon 0-1 Juventus (UEFA Champions League)
10 April 2014: Juventus 2-1 Lyon (UEFA Europa League)
03 April 2014: Lyon 0-1 Juventus (UEFA Europa League)
Juventus vs Lyon: Recent form
Juventus’s form in all competitions: L-L-W-L-W (most recent first)
Lyon’s form in all competitions: D-L-L-W-W (most recent first)
Juventus vs Lyon: Team News
Juventus
Maurizio Sarri will be without the service of Douglas Costa and Mattia De Scigllio as they remain sidelined due to injuries.
As a result, Sarri could start Federico Bernardeschi on the right, or push Juan Cuadrado forward and give Danilo the wing-back role on the right.
Paulo Dybala still remains a doubtful after suffering a muscle injury in his left thigh against Sampdoria in a Serie a fixture a few weeks back.
Absentees: Douglas Costa and Mattia De Sciglio
Doubtful: Paulo Dybala
Lyon
Yossouf Kone misses the trip to Turin as he failed to recover in time after suffering a nasty ankle injury back in December last year.
Meanwhile, right-back Kenny Tete and left-back Marcelo still remain doubtful and will be assessed before the game.
Absentees: Yossouf Kone
Doubtful: Kenny Tete and Marcelo
Juventus vs Lyon: Predicted XI
Juventus predicted XI (4-3-3): Wojciech Szczęsny, Alex Sandro, Leonardo Bonucci, Danilo, Miralem Pjanic, Blaise Matuidi, Rodrigo Bentancur, Federico Bernardeschi, Paulo Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lyon predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Anthony Lopes, Marcelo, Jason Denayer, Joachim Anderson, Leo Dubois, Houssem Aouar, Thiago Mendes, Memphis Depay, Reine-Adelaide, Karl Ekambi, Moussa Dembele.
Juventus vs Lyon: Prediction
Since Lyon’s 1-0 victory in the first leg, they have only appeared in four competitive fixtures due to the coronavirus pandemic and face a daunting task to eliminate Cristiano Ronaldo and company from this season’s Champions League.
Meanwhile, Juventus haven’t been in a great run of form either, but certainly have the firepower to overturn a 1-0 deficit at their home-turf. And more importantly, Juventus talisman Cristiano Ronaldo could become a decisive factor in such a high profile encounter.
With all that in mind, Juventus seem to have all the ammunition to overturn the first leg loss and progress ahead to the business end of the tournament.
Juventus vs Lyon verdict 2-0
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