Monaco vs Juventus. UEFA Champions League Quarter Final.
Stade Louis IIAttendance16,889.
Wednesday 22 April 2015 19:42, UK
Juventus head to Monaco for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final looking to clinch a place in the last four for the first time in over a decade.
Juve, who moved 15 points clear at the top of Serie A after beating second-placed Lazio 2-0 on Saturday as they close in on a fourth successive domestic crown, also have their eyes on a first semi-final appearance in Europe's elite competition since 2003.
On current form they will start the match at Stade Louis II as favourites to reach the last four with one hand already on a fourth consecutive scudetto.
They have won all 10 of their previous knockout ties against French teams in Europe while Monaco have won only one of six ties against Italian clubs.
The Ligue 1 club have also not won any of their last four home matches in any competition at the Stade Louis II, where the lack of atmosphere and crowds that rarely reach the 10,000 mark remove any sense of a home advantage.
Coach Massimiliano Allegri saw his men win last week's first leg 1-0 in Turin thanks to Arturo Vidal's second-half penalty and they travel to the Mediterranean Principality seeking a third straight away win in the competition after victories at Malmo and Borussia Dortmund.
The Italians are oozing with confidence having won eight of their last nine matches and the only goal they have conceded in that run was when their much-changed team lost 1-0 to Serie A bottom club Parma on April 11.
But while Allegri is enjoying Juve's good form, his Monaco counterpart Leonardo Jardim has had to watch his side stumble in recent weeks.
Since winning 3-1 at Arsenal in the first leg of their last 16 Champions League tie in mid-February, Monaco's form has slipped alarmingly.
They squeezed into the last eight of the Champions League on away goals after losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal and after failing to find the net against Juve last week, only drew 1-1 with Rennes in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
That result dented their title hopes and left Jardim frustrated with his side winning only twice in their last seven matches in all competitions, although they have lost just one of their last 18 league games.
"I am not happy. We played well in the first half and controlled the match. However, in the last 30 minutes, I saw that we were looking tired," he said.
Unless Monaco, who are now six points behind leaders Lyon in Ligue 1, click back into gear and come out looking for goals from the start to secure their first Champions League semi-final appearance since 2004, their season is in real danger of fizzling out.
Team news
Massimiliano Allegri is expected to stick with the 3-5-2 formation. His only injury absentees are central defender Martin Caceres (ankle) and attacking midfielder Paul Pogba (thigh).
Arturo Vidal is a minor doubt after being struck down with tonsilitis on Monday while striker Carlos Tevez is fully fit after scoring again at the weekend to take his Serie A-leading tally to 18 goals, 26 in all competitions.
Andrea Pirlo will be expected to play in central midfield after returning from a five-week injury lay-off in time for the first leg and playing 70 minutes against Lazio.
"I haven't decided which formation I will use. If the team defends well, I think it doesn't really matter if we have three or four at the back," Allegri said.
"I'm happy about the success the team is enjoying. The lads deserve praise because they've shown a lot of maturity."
I'm happy about the success the team is enjoying. The lads deserve praise because they've shown a lot of maturity.
Monaco have netted just three times in four Champions League home games this season but can call on one of the tightest defences in Europe, although in midfield it remains to be seen whether captain Jeremy Toulalan (hamstring) and the powerful Geoffrey Kondogbia (ankle) will recover from injury in time to feature.
Further forward, Jardim must decide whether to select the experienced Dimitar Berbatov or the exciting Anthony Martial in attack, or go with both.
Betting
With their one-goal advantage, Juventus are 1/6 favourites to advance to the semi-finals with Sky Bet and 7/5 to win on the night. Monaco are 7/2 to knock the Italians out, but they’ll have to win inside 90 minutes and they're 21/10 to do so. A draw would do for Juve, and that’s priced at 21/10, while 1-1 (9/2) is considered the most likely outcome in the ‘correct score’ odds. Each of Sky Bet's pundit tipsters have backed the Italians to progress, with Phil Thompson and Jamie Redknapp both backing Carlos Tevez to score first in a 1-1 draw on the night at 25/1.
Watch Monaco take on Juventus for a place in the Champions League semi-finals, live on Sky Sports 5 from 7.40pm, on Wednesday 22 April.
