Juventus under pressure as Real come to town

Tuesday, 21 October 08, 03:49 AM · Comments(0)

Pressure is mounting on coach Claudio Ranieri as his stumbling Juventus side host nine-times European champions Real Madrid in Turin in the standout clash of Tuesday’s Champions League ties. Real are top of Group H with maximum points and Juve are also well-placed with four points from two matches although defeat would leave them vulnerable. Two consecutive Serie A defeats have left Juventus stuck in mid-table and they are not helped by the absence of striker David Trezeguet and keeper Gianluigi Buffon with injuries. Elsewhere on Tuesday, defending champions Manchester United and Celtic meet at Old Trafford in Group E with the Scottish side looking to end a demoralising away run in the Champions League that reads 17 defeats and one draw in 18 trips. The top two meet in Group F when Bayern Munich host Fiorentina. Bayern hope to have Italian striker Luca Toni fit after suffering a rib injury. In Group G, leaders Arsenal travel to Istanbul to play Fenerbahce, their first meeting with Turkish opposition since 2000 when they were beaten by Galatasaray in the UEFA Cup final in Copenhagen.

The Spanish champions will go head to head with their fierce European nemesis on Tuesday and while there’s never any love lost between the two on the pitch, there’s never any shortage of respect and admiration off it.

Real Madrid captain and icon, Raúl González Blanco is the latest to heap praise on the Bianconeri, despite the club having to experience a nightmarish past few years due to the Calciopoli scandal and also having to endure a severe slump at present.

“First of all, it will be special because it’s the Champions League and because we are facing one of the greatest clubs in Europe and the world,” the ‘Number 7’ said during the pre-match interviews.

“I believe that it will be a great spectacle and both teams will be fighting it out for a win,” he added

The 31 year old forward does not believe that the Juve players will be affected much by their current crisis.

“They are not going through a good spell at the moment, but I believe in big games like these, everyone wants to play at their best."

“They have a great team and it will be very difficult to win here, but we enter the match

Like this blog? Help spread the word: