Juventus vs Nantes

Juventus’ dismal European campaign continues in the Europa League knockout playoffs as Ligue 1 surprise package Nantes touch down at the Allianz Stadium.

Juventus should consider themselves lucky for having a chance to contest springtime European fixtures after losing five out of six Champions League group matches (W1) for the first time in the club’s history. Like that wasn’t enough, a massive 15-point deduction for ‘financial irregularities’ in mid-January left ‘I Bianconeri’ a staggering 12 points behind the Serie A top-four. Despite edging Fiorentina 1-0 at the weekend to make it three domestic wins in a row, Massimiliano Allegri’s men are aware they must find an alternate way into next season’s Champions League group stages. Lifting the Europa League trophy for the first time since 1992/93 could be the only way, and with Juventus going unbeaten in all 11 home outings in the competition (W5, D6), this is a prime opportunity.

In the meantime, Nantes blew hot and cold in their six Europa League Group G matches (W3, L3) but still secured a runner-up finish behind Freiburg to reach the knockout stage of a major European competition for the first time in over 20 years. With four of those six results (win/loss) yielding a clean sheet, scoring first could be of utmost importance. Moreover, after winning their final two group fixtures, Nantes could register three European victories in a row for the first time since 2001, with their third triumph in that run incidentally coming against Juventus’ fellow Serie A rivals Lazio. Adding to the visitors’ confidence, they’ve kept four consecutive clean sheets on the road (W2, D2) while they come into proceedings on the back of a 1-0 home league win over Lorient.