After a short break, the most powerful tournament of the Old Continent returns to the screens of football fans - the UEFA Champions League. This week marks the beginning of the testing period - the first four quarter-final matches will take place. Today, the Champions League will present a highly anticipated clash - Turin's "Juventus" will host Madrid's "Real" club. This is a rematch of last season's final. In addition to these matches, Sevilla will also see a battle between the local "Sevilla" and Munich's "Bayern". The portal "EuroFootball.com" presents a preview of the day's matches - the review of the "Juventus" and "Real" teams. The road to the quarterfinals The path of both clubs to this stage was not easy - both "Juve" and "Real" finished second in their groups, and in the round of 16, they faced two very dangerous opponents - "Tottenham" and Paris Saint-Germain. The "Old Lady" finished behind "Barcelona" in Group D - the Italians were 3 points behind the Catalans. The final participants left in the tournament were Lisbon's "Sporting" and Piraeus' "Olympiacos". Juventus had a rather silent group stage - scoring seven goals and uncharacteristically conceding five. In the round of 16, they faced Harry Kane's "Tottenham". They had to fight hard for the victory - they started the first match confidently but the London opponents managed to equalize to a 2-2 draw. The return leg in London was even more interesting. "Tottenham" dominated the game for a long time, but then the experience of "Juventus" kicked in - goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala took the Italians to the quarterfinals, where they triumphed with a total score of 4-3. The path of the Madrid "Real" team was also not smooth - they finished behind "Tottenham" in the group stage. Interestingly, Mauricio Pochettino's players are the only ones who have beaten "Real" in Europe this season. In the round of 16, the tournament champions faced a real challenge - a battle with PSG aiming for the title. In the first leg, the Madrid team showed that experience cannot be bought with money - the wealthy French were defeated 3-1 at home. The return leg still caused a lot of excitement, but there too, the "whites" were superior - goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro helped secure a victory with a score of 2-1. Sporting form Both Juventus and Real are currently in excellent sporting form - Juventus only failed to win twice in their last ten matches, and Real suffered only one defeat in Barcelona. Massimiliano Allegri's players fought against the "Milan" club in their last matches. The "Bianconeri" fans were not disappointed - Leonardo Bonucci equalized the result, but the Italian champions did not hesitate and celebrated a victory with a score of 3-1. Before the international break, Juventus also fared quite well - they unexpectedly played a goalless draw against "SPAL" away, but before that match, they had achieved six consecutive victories. Having started the season somewhat shakily in defense, Juventus returns to their usual playing rhythm - in the last five matches, the Turin team conceded only two goals and kept a clean sheet in seven of the last ten matches. Real's results are also pleasing to their fans - they have won only victories in their last five matches. They defeated "Las Palmas", "Girona", "Eibar", PSG, and "Getafe". In their last match, Zinedine Zidane's players defeated "Las Palmas" eleven. Real played without a bunch of leaders, but that did not prevent them from achieving a confident victory with a score of 3-0. Real's problem, as always, remains the same - quite poor defensive play. The Spanish champions have only kept a clean sheet twice in their last ten matches. However, defensive issues are overshadowed because the attacking play is currently working great - 16 goals scored in the last five matches. Team news Juventus has serious problems with the team composition lately. Before the international break, Giorgio Chiellini and Juan Cuadrado suffered injuries, but both players have already recovered and played over the weekend. It is still unclear whether Mario Mandzukic and Alex Sandro will be able to take part in these matches, as Federico Bernardeschi also did not have time to recover from injuries. Two players who will definitely miss the match are Miralem Pjanic and Medhi Benatia - both are suspended. Allegri is most concerned about the problems in the defense line. After Pjanic's suspension, there is no clear creative midfielder left. It is believed that Rodrigo Bentancur, who is not very experienced, will replace the Bosnian in midfield. Other two midfielders - Sami Khedira and Blaise Matuidi will have to take on more creative tasks. In defense, Allegri is also forced to deal with problems, but there are options - Benatia will replace Andrea Barzagli, and in the absence of Alex Sandro, Kwadwo Asamoah will play on the left flank. In this showdown, Real will field their strongest lineup. Zinedine Zidane's biggest challenge is the starting lineup, as a whole bunch of attacking players are vying for it. However, it is speculated that in Turin, we will see the same eleven that played in last year's final. Gareth Bale has been in excellent form lately and scored two goals over the weekend, but it is believed that the Frenchman will still play with four defenders, so there will be no room for Bale. Of course, it is not ruled out that Bale could appear from the first minutes, but the more realistic option is that Isco will form the defensive line with Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, and Casemiro, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema ahead of them. The only injured player in the Real ranks is Nacho Fernandez, but the Spanish player was not designated a key role in these matches. Predicted starting line-ups: Juventus: (4-3-3) Gianluigi Buffon; Mattia De Sciglio, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Sami Khedira, Rodrigo Bentancur, Blaise Matuidi; Douglas Costa, Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala. Real Madrid: (4-3-1-2) Keylor Navas; Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric; Isco; Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo. Interesting facts In the history of matches between these clubs, Real won nine times, Juventus eight times. Two meetings ended in a draw. Both clubs have scored an equal number of goals against each other - 22. In the Champions League, Real has only failed to score more than two goals in four out of 21 recent matches. During the last five meetings between these teams in Turin, more than two goals have been scored. In the Champions League, Juventus has remained unbeaten for seven consecutive matches. Real's leader Cristiano Ronaldo is currently a nightmare for his opponents - in the last eight matches representing Real, the Portuguese has scored 17 goals. Juventus has not lost to a team from the Spanish capital in Turin for over 70 years - Real has lost in Turin six times and once played a draw. Real has been eliminated by the Turin team four times in knockout matches.
