When Ancelotti first came to Madrid, he promised the long-sought after La Decima. Now, less than 2 years since, his team is 180 minutes away from reaching their second consecutive Champions League final. Stepping between the Whites and the final, the recently crowned Italian champions Juventus. A few days ago, the team from Turin won their
4th consecutive Serie A title, so to say that they will
not be lacking in confidence when they host Real tomorrow, will not be an understatement.
In the past, many comparisons have been made between Juventus and Simeone's Atletico Madrid, most notably in defence in arial ability. Those comparisons are not far fetched either, as Juventus boasts a fantastic defensive record with just 29 goals conceded in 49 matches played in all competitions so far this season . That record is especially impressive when Juventus play at home, as they have conceded just 15 goals in 24 home matches, with 13 clean sheets. So, it seems that Juve will use the defensive approach tomorrow vs the always attacking Madrid, in the hopes of not conceding an away goal and hopefully using their ruthless football to get a very important away goal at the Santiago Bernabeu 9 days from now. But that, may be harder than it sounds, as Real Madrid is a very tough team to stop from scoring.
Couple that with the team's recent surge in performances and you can see why Real Madrid are already overwhelming favourites for the tie. Real Madrid are currently undefeated in their last 9 matches in all competitions, with 8 wins and a draw. They have scored 28 and conceded just 6 goals during that run. Indeed, since the Clasico defeat before the international break, Real have came back stronger than ever with wins over Atletico, Malaga, Celta Vigo, and Sevilla. The latest one being away from home, a feat no team has accomplished in almost a year and a half. This surge in performance is also linked with Cristiano's return to form, as even though the Portuguese missed the back of the net in 3 of his last 4 matches, he has still contributed to
17 goals in his last 10 matches with Real Madrid (12 goals and 5 assists). His record vs Juventus is particularly impressive as he has 3 goals
and an assist in just 2 matches vs the Italian team.
So, the Whites will need the strong defence that has seen them keep 5 clean sheets in their last 8 matches, while maintaining the deadly attack that recently made them the first team in the Top 7 Leagues' history to score 100+ goals in 6 consecutive seasons. As they go against a rock-solid team that performs scarily well at home.
Real Madrid Stats
- Real Madrid have won each of their last 5 matches in all competitions.
- Real Madrid have scored 10 goals in their last 3 matches, even though 2 of those were away from home.
- Real Madrid have scored 2+ goals in 9 of their last 12 matches in all competitions.
- Real Madrid have failed to score in just 3 of their last 24 matches in all competitions.
- Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time top goal scorer of the European Cup/Champions League.
- Real Madrid have scored 3+ goals in each of their last 3 matches in all competitions.
- Real Madrid have kept 5 clean sheets in their last 8 matches in all competitions.
- No team has kept more clean sheets in the UCL this season than Real Madrid (7).
- Real Madrid have scored in 24 of their 29 away matches in all competitions this season.
- Real Madrid have scored in 7 of their last 9 matches vs Juventus.
- Real Madrid have not won any away match vs Juventus in the UCL (1992 onwards).
- Real Madrid have lost just 2 of their last 24 UCL matches.
- Real Madrid have scored in 46 of their last 48 UCL matches.
- Real Madrid are on a 7-match undefeated streak away from home in the UCL.
- Real Madrid have not conceded a single goal in their last 444 minutes away from home in the UCL.
- Real Madrid have conceded just one goal in their last 6 away matches in the UCL.
- Real Madrid have lost just one of their last 12 matches away from home in the UCL.
- Real Madrid have failed to score in just 2 of their last 30 away UCL matches.
- Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in 13 of his last 14 away UCL matches.
Juventus Stats
- Juventus have lost just one of their last 5 matches vs Real Madrid.
- Juventus have lost just one of their 24 home matches in all competitions this season.
- Juventus have scored 56 and conceded just 15 goals at home this season.
- Juventus have kept 10 clean sheets in their last 13 matches in all competitions.
- Juventus have conceded 2+ goals in just 7 of their 49 matches this season.
- Juventus have won 12 of their last 13 home matches in all competitions this season.
- Juventus have kept 5 clean sheets in their last 6 home matches in all competitions.
- Juventus have scored 3+ goals in just 3 of their last 18 matches in all competitions.
- Juventus have scored in each of their last 15 home matches in all competitions.
- Juventus are on a 7-match undefeated streak in the UCL at the moment.
- Juventus have conceded just one goal in their last 6 UCL matches.
- Juventus have not conceded a goal in their last 342 minutes in the UCL.
- Juventus have lost none of their last 8 home matches in the UCL.
- Juventus have lost just one of their last 24 home matches in European competitions.
- Juventus have conceded 2+ goals at home in just 4 of their 24 home matches this season.
- No team has scored more goals (64) or conceded less goals (19) than Juventus in Serie A this season.
- Carlos Tevez is Juventus's top goal scorer this season, with 28 goals in 42 matches.
- Former Real Madrid player Alvaro Morata is the only player other than Tevez to reach 10+ goals in all competitions for Juventus this season.
- After scoring 7 goals in his last 46 matches in European competitions in the last 7 seasons, Tevez has scored 6 goals in the UCL in this season alone.
