22 Sept 2021
Recent Form
Juve were forced to give up their Serie A title for the first time in over a decade as Antonio conte’s Inter Milan took the crown while Andrea Pirlo only managed to get his side to scrape into the top four.
Massimo Allegri hasn’t had the greatest return so far, though having failed to win their opening four matches of the season they’ve now achieved back-to-back 3-2 victories over Spezia and Sassuolo.
They currently sit top of the group on goal-difference having beaten pot 4 Malmo 3-0, though this will be a much bigger task.
Chelsea’s nine game unbeaten run came to an end when hosting Man City at the weekend, and despite the score finishing just 1-0, it was the negative approach to the game that would have worried Chelsea fans more.
A lack of output had been an issue for Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel last season, though it was largely covered up with an impeccable defensive record in which they kept 19 clean sheets in 30 matches.
The addition of Romelu Lukaku was intended to solve that problem, and while Chelsea have scored more than two in half of their matches since the start of the Premier League season, they’ve also struggled at times in front of goal with just one goal or fewer in three of their last four outings, and lack of consistency makes this a hard one to call.
Under 2.5 Goals
The Blues have a terrible record in Italy, going W1-D3-L5, and surprisingly it’s their recent record that is the worst with their only victory coming over Lazio in 2003, while they’ve lost each of their last four visits by an aggregate 11-2.
We wouldn’t expect a thrashing from the hosts by any stretch of the imagination considering the respective form of both these sides, though that certainly is an unwanted record to head to Turin with.
Academy duo Reece James and Mason Mount are likely to miss out though injury here, while Chrisitan Pulisic is also a doubt as he looks to work his way back from an ankle problem picked up on international duty.
However, in the two games that both James and Mount have missed since the start of last season, Chelsea have won 4-0 and 3-0 over Crystal Palace and Aston Villa respectively, so there’s a statistical suggestion that they have enough reinforcements to cope without the duo.
Juventus will be without Paolo Dybala and Alvaro Morata for this clash, and while Juve have actually seen a 14% increase in league output since the beginning of last season when those two have failed to feature, that will largely be down to the influence of Cristiano Ronaldo on the squad last term and without his output, we’d be surprised if their injuries are a blessing.
A lack of potential output for the hosts is matched by that of the visitors, where Romelu Lukaku continues his career struggle against sides of real quality.
The Belgian scored just once in five clashes with the Old Lady in his Inter Milan days, and if he struggles to find the net it’s hard to see where the goals are going to come from in this game.
PREDICTION:
UNDER2.5 GOALS
18+BeGambleAware
GENTING CASINO ONLY OFFERS SPORTS ARTICLES AND NOT SPORTS BETTING
