Barcelona vs Juventus

Levi’s Stadium is the venue as Juventus and Barcelona lock horns in a mouth-watering pre-season friendly as part of their United States tour.

An underwhelming 2022/23 season, highlighted by a shock Champions League group-stage exit and legal issues leading to another point deduction, saw Juventus miss out on a Serie A top-four finish for the first time in over a decade. Despite being at the helm during one of the club’s worst seasons in modern history, under-fire manager Massimiliano Allegri remains in charge. He’s lost three of his last four matches (W1), including a thumping 4-1 defeat at sub-par Empoli at the tail-end of the 2022/23 campaign. The upcoming clash against Barcelona will hardly inspire much confidence within ‘I Bianconeri’ ranks, especially considering they’ve gone winless in their last two meetings (D1, L1), conceding 2+ goals on both occasions.

In stark contrast to Juventus’ dreadful last season, Barcelona excelled in La Liga, wrestling back domestic supremacy for the first time since 2018/19 in emphatic fashion. Xavi Hernandez’s steely backline conceded only 20 goals at an average of 0.58 per game en route to dethroning arch-rivals Real Madrid. However, complacency caught up with the ‘Blaugrana’ down the final stretch. They lost three of their last four league matches (W1), conceding precisely twice on each occasion. The Catalan heavyweights bounced back from a poor season finale with a 2-0 win over Japanese outfit Vissel Kobe in their first summer friendly. Both goals in that victory came within the first 20 minutes of play, highlighting the potential for a quick-fire start.