Juventus ended up with a huge 1-1 match in the first match at the former Madrigal stadium, so it is objectively the favorite to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Champions League, but the quality and manner of Villarreal’s style of play always call for every opponent to be careful. In the first match, the Old Lady liked the situation in which they do not have to attack (41 percent possession of the ball), took the lead early thanks to Dušan Vlahović, which was enough for the Bianconeri to avoid defeat in Spain. The visitors continued to play cowardly and the Yellow Submarine deservedly equalized.However, now the team of Massimiliano Allegri will be in a situation where they have to ‘create the game’ themselves, they don’t have to rush but will have to attack at some point, and that is not a situation in which this team manages very well. The trio Locatelli-Arthur-Rabiot is not too creative, they are ready to carry a big burden but not to make a difference technically. Juventus will play in a 4-4-2 formation, in addition to the mentioned trio, the fourth player in the line will be Juan Cuadrado, who has everything that his best teammates lack.Therefore, a large portion of the offensive could seriously fall on the duo Vlahović-Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard, after the arrival of a strong Serb, came forward as an alternative in the attack and that came back to him through goals.Chelsea’s mission – In spite of everyone and against all oddsObjectively, Juventus seem reborn since the arrival of Vlahovic. The Serb woke up the dormant Bianconeri, who since have not tasted defeat in all competitions, and had four victories in a row. The last time they didn’t win was on a visit to Villarreal in the first match of the eighth-finals of the Champions League. Vlahović scored the goal for the lead after only half a minute of the game, but Allegri continued to play too defensively and the Yellow Submarine deservedly equalized. Villareal were even closer to victory.The experienced Italian can count on Giorgio Chiellini, Paulo Dybala and Federico Bernardeschi again, but probably none of them will be ready to play from the beginning. Dybala and Bernardeschi could bring quality in case they step on the pitch.”Morata and Vlahovic will play. Morata is in good shape, he has always had quality, but he has been criticized despite playing in a position that was not naturally his. I am satisfied with him, he plays well in tandem with Vlahovic, he has more freedom on the pitch. We all feel good. We will also need a bit of luck to qualify,” said Massimiliano Allegri.Juve’s ship safe in Genoan harbour as Samp fail to hurt BianconeriFor Juventus, elite competition has become an obsession in recent years. Even though they caught up with the leading trio in Serie A, even though they are on the threshold of the finals of the Italian Cup, they would probably trade it all for the continental trophy. However, that pressure is not as intense this season as it was in the previous ones, precisely due to the fact that not everything is set up in Serie A the way they would like. Maybe they manage to use that lack of pressure to get a new opportunity to hope for Champions League glory.”We have clear ideas, I hope we will implement them. The team is feeling well, this is a decisive moment in the season. We must have ambition to reach the finals, that is the goal we have, so we must try. If we are well and happy, we will succeed. If others are better than us, we will not. This is like the finals that we play at home”, Allegri added.Allegri’s move to rest Vlahovic last weekend away to Sampdoria and to give him a chance only in the last half hour from the bench clearly shows that he wanted to keep him fit for Villarreal. In previous years, Juventus were eliminated in the knockout phase by teams such as Ajax, Lyon and Porto, and this Villarreal are not weaker than those mentioned. Juve will have to play a game close to perfect in order to cope with the Spaniards, whose midfield was technically dominant in relation to Allegri’s midfielders.✅✅✅✅✅✅Juventus have won each of their last six #UCL home matches. 😮Bad omens for Villareal. #JUVVIL pic.twitter.com/BMjdRSLhpl— BabaIjebu (@playbabaijebu) March 15, 2022 Villarreal have a savvy, very potent attack-wise led by the very nasty Arnaut Danjuma. The speed and creativeness are provided by Chukwueze, Lo Celso and Trigeros, who should not be given lots of space, while Coquelin and Parejo will be the midfield block – they will have to be of great help to stoppers Raul Albiol and Pau Torres.The statements of the young Yeremy Pino about the way he learned about the qualities of Dušan Vlahović were especially interesting.”In the beginning, I only saw him on Tik Tok and I thought he was a good player. However, after that I watched him on the pitch, he was amazing, a proper beast. They sent him two passes, he scored after only 33 seconds,” Pino said.Through a series of trophy victories in the Europa League, Unai Emery simply mastered matches that are played in the elimination phase of the competition, and this will be one of the most demanding tasks in his career. In this match, he will not be able to count on Ruben Pena, Paco Alcácer and Alberto Moreno. His troubles continue with insufficiently prepared Gerard Moreno, Etienne Capoue and Juan Foyth.”We came to Italy with a lot of desire. But they will also fight for that victory from the first to last minute. A lot of thing will happen and we will have to take control over them. They did not lose in Serie A, this is a team used to living under pressure and winning”,Emery said.Allegri has serious problems with the absences of Alex Sandro, Leonardo Bonucci, Weston McKennie and Federico Chiesa. The centre back pairing with consist of Matthijs de Ligt and Daniele Rugani.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUERound of 16, second legTuesday, 8 MarchBayern – Salzburg 7-1 (4-0)/Lewandowski 12 (p), 21 (p), 23, Gnabry 31, Muller 54, 83, Sane 85 – Kjaergaard 71/Liverpool – Inter 0-1 (0-0)/Lautaro 61/Wednesday, 9 MarchReal Madrid – PSG 3-1 (0-1)/Benzema 61, 76, 78 – Mbappe 39/Manchester City – Sporting 0-0Tuesday, 15 MarchAjax – Benfica 0-1 (0-0)/Nunez 77/Man.Utd. – Atl.Madrid 0-1 (0-1)/Lodi 41/Wednesday, 16 March23.00: (2.00) Juventus (3.50) Villareal (4.10)23.00: (4.10) Lille (3.50) Chelsea (2.00)***odds are subject to change
