The grand final of the season - tonight. At 21:45 Lithuanian time, two highly regarded teams from the Old Continent - Turin's "Juventus" and Madrid's "Real" will clash for the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League trophy in Cardiff.
This is a highly intriguing match-up. Recently, football fans are used to seeing the "Real" team in finals - over the past four years, the "whites" played in the final stage for the third time. In the battle for the trophy, each team tries to play a bit more cautious football, but as the last two finals showed, the "Real" team is always inclined to start the match in a dominant manner.
The Madrid team is facing the most organized team from the Old Continent - Turin's "Juventus". The "old ladies" are demonstrating an ironclad defense, having conceded just three goals in this tournament. However, "Real" played against a similar playing style promoter in the last two finals - Madrid's "Atletico". They were successful both times, but the titles were won after tough battles.
In these games, it is expected that "Juve" will focus more on defense than their opponents. Both teams have similarities in their game - "Juve" usually poses a threat to teams that play high lines, with dangerous counterattacks. The game of the "old ladies" starts from the defense, but with defenders like Dani Alves and Alex Sandro or a player who can control the ball quickly and technically like Paulo Dybala, opponents can be caught off guard by fast attacks.
"Real" also knows how to play good football and is successful, but this tactic should not work in these matches, as "Juventus" with a back line of five will not aim to control the ball in the midfield for a long time and build up positional attacks. It can be expected that in these matches, the "whites" will have to play more positional football, which is not very acceptable for them, knowing that all of Zinedine Zidane's successful play is based on the excellent work of full backs Dani Carvajal and Marcelo in providing quick and accurate passes to the penalty area.
However, "Real" has other options - usually until Gareth Bale's injury, "Real" played a 4-3-3 formation, which is very effective in utilizing the potential of wingers, but constant injury problems have paved the way for attacking Madrid's midfielder Isco into the starting lineup, who has been showing impressive performance in recent months and is undeniably one of the team's best players.
Therefore, we can expect that Zidane will not include G. Bale in the starting eleven and "Real" will play in a 4-4-2 formation. The back line of four, which worked very effectively in the first Champions League semi-final match against Madrid's "Atletico", will also be working from defense. In these matches, it was clear to see how effective the formation of four defenders with two forwards can be in resisting a team trying to break through.
Of course, having a player as individually talented as Gareth Bale is a true pleasure for any team, but playing against "Juventus", whose defense currently has no equals in the world, the 4-3-3 formation can be ineffective due to the fact that this schema is based precisely on quick passes to the penalty area.
The back line of four gives balance to the team in the midfield: Casemiro is tasked with dealing with fast opponent breakthroughs, Toni Kroos - precise execution of set-piece situations and accurate passes, Luka Modric - ball reception in tight spaces and sudden breakthroughs in the midfield, Isco - playing behind the forwards position and dealing with non-standard situations.
These are the main highlights of the game in Zidane's used 4-4-2 scheme. The full backs, especially Marcelo, also do a great job in the wings, but their play for the "Real" team also poses a huge danger - in fast counter attacks, "Juventus" can "catch" the advancing full backs and with a few passing combinations, pose a huge threat to Keylor Navas' defended goal.
One of the huge advantages of "Juventus" is that any breakthrough by Dani Alves and Alex Sandro into the attack is compensated by a back line of three center backs. As another one of the "Bianconeri's" top priorities in these matches, it should be to prevent Toni Kroos from easily playing in the midfield - this task should be handled by the more defensively positioned Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain.
Kroos is a fairly slow player, so putting pressure on him can bring results quickly when transitioning from defense to attack. Also, "Juventus" should pay great attention to the fastest and least technical player in the "Real" team, Casemiro.
The Brazilian defensive midfielder is indispensable in Zidane's game - he brings balance to the team and provides a sense of security for the center backs and the full backs surging forward in attack. However, Casemiro struggles to control balls from the defenders - any additional pressure could lead to "Juventus" taking the ball in the midfield. Nevertheless, Zidane is trying to solve this problem by having Toni Kroos and Luka Modric drop down before starting the attack.
A special task should be given to perhaps the most prominent "Juventus" star at the moment, Paulo Dybala - the Argentinian with very fast feet and amazing technique should try to make as many sharp runs towards the "Real" goal, which could provoke more mistakes from Casemiro, and later - maybe even his removal from the field. Casemiro had a hard time this season in stopping the play very similar to Lionel Messi.
It's hard to expect that both teams will try to catch each other off guard at the beginning of the match, but a huge importance in this confrontation should be given to an early goal of the "Juventus" team. This is like a "death sentence" for any team trying to play against "Juventus". "Real" will try to attack more than their opponents, but the reigning champions of the tournament understand very well that any small mistake in the midfield could have a huge impact on the final result.
"EuroFootball.com" predicted starting lineups and formation:
