APR 18 - Barcelona Vs Juventus UEFA Expert Picks

Barcelona Vs Juventus UEFA Expert Picks

Written by on April 18, 2017

The Champions League is arguably the most prestigious club tournament in the world, simply because of the caliber of teams that take part, as well as the quality of football that we see played each year. The tournament has delivered some of the more memorable matches in recent memory, and perhaps none more dramatic than the second leg match-up between Barcelona and PSG in the round of 16. The tie looked to be over after the first leg, with PSG heading to Spain with a 4-0 lead, but Barcelona pulled off a miracle, scoring 3 times in the closing minutes to record a 6-1 win that moved them into the quarter-finals and a match-up with Italian giants Juventus. Barcelona are going to need to pull off another miracle if they hope to move on once more, as they head into the second leg of this match-up down 3-0. The Italians are a good deal tighter on the offensive side of the ball, so you have to feel as though this task is going to be a whole lot tougher than the one they had versus PSG. Find out the latest soccer betting picks here.

Barcelona Vs Juventus UEFA Expert Picks

When: Wednesday, April 19 at 2:45 PM EST
Where: Camp Nou, Barcelona
TV: FS1
Live Stream: FOX Sports GO
UEFA Odds: Barcelona FC -1 (-125)


Why bet on Barcelona

If there is any team in the world that can pull off back to back fairytale comebacks, it must be Barcelona. This is a team with an incredible amount of scoring punch, with Neymar, Messi, and Suarez perhaps the most formidable attacking trio in football. The problem that Barcelona have right now, besides that glaring 3-0 deficit, is that they are not playing particularly well. They had lost 2-0 to Malaga prior to the first leg game with Juventus, and they struggled to put away Real Sociedad over the weekend, eventually winning 3-2 in that one. They look to be about to settle for second best in La Liga behind Real Madrid, and now face the prospect of going out of the CL. This is not what Barcelona fans have come to expect in recent years.

Why bet on Juventus

There is potentially some disappointing news for Juventus ahead of the second leg, which is that Paulo Dybala, who bagged a brace in the opening game, may not be fit enough to play. Under normal circumstances, it would be a blow to lose one of your best offensive players ahead of such an important game, but with a 3-0 lead, do we really believe that Juve are going to adopt an offensive stance in this one? After all, this is a team that has now kept three consecutive clean sheets, so they are more than equipped to lock things down and keep Barcelona at bay.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

Asking a team to perform miracles in back to back match-ups in the Champions League is, in my humble opinion, too big an order. Barcelona will come out and have a go, but I believe they will fall short this time.

Barcelona 2 Juventus 1