Juventus vs Chelsea: It’ll be the first of two Group H-deciding clashes between UEFA Champions League giants when Juventus and Chelsea meet at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday.
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Chelsea will be hoping to bounce back from their first defeat of the 2021-22 season after they were beaten by Manchester City in Premier League play on Saturday. Thomas Tuchel’s side was left frustrated and a bit baffled by Pep Guardiola’s switch to a 3-5-2, a formation in which Massimiliano Allegri used to deploy Juventus in his first stint at the club, but is yet to do so since returning over the summer.
Injuries became something of a worry for Chelsea over the weekend, with Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante (COVID-19) and Reece James all joining Christian Pulisic on the injury report in recent days.
Juventus, meanwhile, are struggling quite badly back in Italy. The recently dethroned nine-time Serie A champions sit 10th in the table after six games (8 points). They are, however, riding the momentum of back-to-back wins after knocking Spezia and Sampdoria in the span of three days last week.
Adjusting to life without Cristiano Ronaldo, who could singlehandedly drive an attack forward and score crucial goals, is proving challenging. While it’s true there are more shots to go around for the likes of Alvaro Morata, Paulo Dybala and Federico Chiesa, there is also greatest responsibility and expectation placed upon said shots. So far, all three players have scored twice in Serie A play. Unfortunately, two of the three are currently injured and won’t play on Wednesday.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Juventus vs Chelsea, a heavyweight clash in Turin.
Juventus team news, injuries, lineups
Morata and Dybala are both out for a few weeks alongside midfielder Arthur, who is yet to make his season debut, while Adrien Rabiot makes his return from a short-term injury.
Juventus XI: Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, De Ligt, Sandro; Cuadrado, Bentancur, Locatelli, Rabiot; Chiesa, Bernardeschi.
Chelsea team news, injuries, lineups
Pulisic, Mount, Kante and James are are all out for Wednesday, while Tuchel may well dig even deeper into his squad as they need a win in the Premier League on Saturday against Southampton to get back on track.
Chelsea XI: Mendy; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Ziyech, Havertz; Lukaku.
Odds and ends (full odds provided by our partner, PointsBet)
Juventus (+300) | Chelsea (-108) | Draw (+245)
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Prediction
This one looks like a tight, tactical battle between two managers known for incredible attention to tactical details. Perhaps the high-intensity nature of their weekend clash, plus the travel factor, will leave Chelsea a bit short of their very best. Juventus are good enough to turn that into a win, but a draw is most likely. Juventus 1-1 Chelsea.
How to watch Juventus vs Chelsea live, stream and start time
Kick off: 3pm ET, WednesdayOnline: Live updates via NBCSports.com
How to watch: Paramount+
