Barcelona vs. Juventus Match Preview

Tuesday, April 22, KO 1845 GMT, Nou Camp, Champions League quarterfinal, second leg. Barcelona and Juventus are tied 1-1 on aggregate.

Barcelona coach Radomir Antic will welcome back Javier Saviola, after the Argentine striker's enforced absence from Saturday's heartening 1-1 draw at Real Madrid because of suspension.

Antic should also be able to give a starting place to Luis Enrique, the inspirational midfielder who scored the equalizer against Real in what was his first start since October.

Juan Pablo Sorin is ineligible for the Champions League after signing from Lazio in mid-season, while Gabri is suspended.

That will mean a shuffle in the defense, with Michael Reiziger likely to take the left-back slot, with Carles Puyol shifting to the right.

Alternatively, Gaizka Mendieta could be asked to play at right-back, with Puyol continuing alongside Frank de Boer in the middle.

Juve's 2-1 win over AS Roma on Saturday, meanwhile, leaves it travelling to Barcelona with its 27th Serie A title in its sights.

Alessandro Del Piero scored both goals in the victory which leaves Juve six points ahead of second-placed Inter Milan and coach Marcello Lippi is expected to stick with his winning lineup.

French striker David Trezeguet is not fit and not travelling to Barcelona because of a shoulder injury.

Croatian Igor Tudor and experienced Italian Antonio Conte are likely to start on the bench as Alessio Tacchinardi continues to enjoy a good spell of form in the center of midfield.

Probable teams:

Barcelona: 1-Roberto Bonano; 5-Carles Puyol, 3-Frank de Boer, 4-Patrik Andersson, 2-Michael Reiziger; 11-Marc Overmars, 6-Xavi, 31-Thiago Motta, 21-Luis Enrique; 7-Javier Saviola, 9-Patrick Kluivert.

Juventus: 1-Gianluigi Buffon; 21-Lilian Thuram, 2-Ciro Ferrara, 4-Paolo Montero, 19-Gianluca Zambrotta; 16-Mauro Camoranesi, 3-Alessio Tacchinardi, 26-Edgar Davids, 11-Pavel Nedved; 10-Alessandro Del Piero, 18-Marco Di Vaio.

Referee: Graham Poll (England)

Match Stats:

Head-to-head record:
Played: 7 Wins: Juventus 3, Barcelona 2 Draws: 2

Previous meetings:
Barcelona 1 Juventus 2 1970-71 Fairs Cup second round
Juventus 2 Barcelona 1 1970-71 Fairs Cup second round
Barcelona 1 Juventus 0 1985-86 European Cup quarterfinal
Juventus 1 Barcelona 1 1985-86 European Cup quarterfinal
Barcelona 3 Juventus 1 1990-91 Cup Winners Cup semifinal
Juventus 1 Barcelona 0 1990-91 Cup Winners Cup semifinal
Juventus 1 Barcelona 1 2002-03 Champions League quarterfinal

Barcelona:
Last six European matches: WWDWWD
Leading European scorer in current squad: Luis Enrique 24
Leading European scorer this season: Javier Saviola 7
All-time leading scorer: Rivaldo 30
Coach: Radomir Antic

Juventus:
Last six European matches: WLLWLD
Leading European scorer in current squad: Alessandro Del Piero 30
Leading European scorer this season: Del Piero/Marco Di Vaio 4
All-time leading scorer: Del Piero 30
Coach: Marcello Lippi

Champions League results 2002-03
Barcelona P15 W13 D2 L0 F30 A7
Qualifying round
Aug 14 H v Legia Warsaw 3-0 De Boer, Riquelme, Cocu
Aug 28 A v Legia Warsaw 1-0 Mendieta
First group phase
Sept 18 H v Club Bruges 3-2 Luis Enrique, Mendieta, Saviola
Sept 24 A v Galatasaray 2-0 Kluivert, Luis Enrique
Oct 2 A v Lokomotiv Moscow 3-1 Kluivert, Saviola 2
Oct 23 H v Lokomotiv Moscow 1-0 De Boer
Oct 29 A v Club Bruges 1-0 Riquelme
Nov 13 H v Galatasaray 3-1 Dani, Gerard, Geovanni
Second group phase
Nov 27 A v Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Saviola, Overmars
Dec 11 H v Newcastle United 3-1 Dani, Kluivert, Motta
Feb 18 H v Inter Milan 3-0 Saviola, Cocu, Kluivert
Feb 24 A v Inter Milan 0-0
Mar 11 H v Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Saviola, De Boer
Mar 19 A v Newcastle United 2-0 Kluivert, Motta
Quarterfinals
Apr 9 A v Juventus 1-1 Saviola
Juventus P13 W6 D3 L4 F24 A15
First group phase
Sept 18 A v Feyenoord 1-1 Camoranesi
Sept 24 H v Dynamo Kiev 5-0 Di Vaio 2, Del Piero, Davids, Nedved
Oct 2 H v Newcastle United 2-0 Del Piero 2
Oct 23 A v Newcastle United 0-1
Oct 29 H v Feyenoord 2-0 Di Vaio 2
Nov 13 A v Dynamo Kiev 2-1 Salas, Zalayeta
Second group phase
Nov 26 A v Deportivo Coruna 2-2 Birindelli, Nedved
Dec 11 H v Basel 4-0 Trezeguet, Montero, Tacchinardi, Del Piero
Feb 19 A v Manchester United 1-2 Nedved
Feb 25 H v Manchester United 0-3
Mar 12 H v Deportivo Coruna 3-2 Ferrara, Trezeguet, Tudor
Mar 18 A v Basel 1-2 Tacchinardi
Quarterfinals
Apr 9 H v Barcelona 1-1 Montero

Notes: Barcelona, unbeaten in the Champions League this season and with a perfect home record, looks odds on favorite to go through. Its record against Italian clubs is excellent and the last Italian visitor, Inter Milan, was beaten 3-0 at the Nou Camp in the second phase. Its success has been built on a solid defense which has kept nine clean sheets in 15 games and let in just seven goals in total. Only one has been conceded in its last five matches.
Juventus has a disappointing record in Spain where it has not won since beating Barcelona 2-1 in the 1970-71 season. Since then it has lost nine of its 12 matches in Spain and drawn the other three. In the past three seasons, it has won only one Champions League away match -- a 2-1 victory in Kiev in November.

Barcelona's record v Italian clubs: P30 W14 D8 L8 F54 A34
Barcelona at home to Italian clubs: P13 W7 D2 L4 F28 A13
Juventus's record v Spanish clubs: P38 W15 D9 L14 F46 A44
Juventus away to Spanish clubs: P17 W3 D3 L11 F16 A30

 

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