Juventus – Freiburg

In Turin, the hosts will not be able to create a decent lead before the return leg

The first leg of the Europa League 1/8 finals in Turin will see the epitome of experience and ambition come together. Juventus started the current European competition in the Champions League, where they have had a dreadful season, picking up three points along with Maccabi. After an embarrassing exit from Europe's elite tournament, there was yet another blow for the Turin club in January. This time, the Italian football federation stripped Juve of 15 points for financial fraud. The Bianconeri clashed with Nantes in the first leg of the Europa League play-offs. They failed to beat the French in the first leg, but Juventus were convincing 3-0 in the second. Since September, Freiburg have been playing in the Europa League, where they progressed through the group stage in the same quartet as Nantes. The German side missed out on the 1/16 finals stage, as they qualified for the playoffs from first place in their group. Bookmakers have identified the home side as the favourites to win the first leg, with a win selectable at odds of 1.65. After the Federation's verdict was announced, Juventus immediately lost to Monza, but quickly recovered to rectify their newly-minted Serie A mid-table status. Five consecutive domestic league wins helped propel the Turin side to the Italian Cup semi-finals and into seventh place in the Championship. The Old Lady now find themselves comfortably behind Roma and Atalanta in the Eurocup zone. On 5 March, Juventus will face the Romans in the game that precedes Freiburg. The visitors to the upcoming match have been remarkably unstoppable since the start of the season. Although Freiburg have had a worse start to 2023 than the second half of the previous year, the team have only lost away games to Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund. In the Bundesliga, Streich's side sit in fifth place, still a realistic contender for a place in the Champions League zone. Before the trip to Turin, Freiburg visited Mönchengladbach, where they were held to a 0-0 draw with Borussia Dortmund. It is worth noting that the Germans will have a day and a half more than Juventus to prepare for the upcoming meeting. Freiburg know how to defend and contain their opponents, which will lead to a successful outcome for them in the first meeting with the Italians.