Lyon will need to do what no other team has managed this season if they are to progress to the Semi-finals of the Europa League: Beat Juventus at home. The Bianconeri are undefeated at home in all competitions this season and hold a crucial, if slender 1-0 lead over the French side thanks to Leonardo Bonucci’s late goal last week at the Stade de Gerland
Juventus are firm favourites for the match given their strong home record and Lyon’s never-ending injuries woes, although Antonio Conte knows the tie is far from over:
“Let’s not forget that it’s been seven years since an Italian side reached the semis,” he told a Press conference.
“That would really be something we would be proud of.
“It would be great to reach the last four, for Italian football as well as for Juve.”
“We’re completely focused on this game because it would be prestigious for Juve to reach the semi-finals of such a great competition.
“Our job’s going to be very difficult though – all that counts is winning.
“When you win, you’ve got it right. When things don’t go well, you’ve got it wrong – it’s that simple.
“We’ll try to carry on doing the things which went well in the first leg, and try to correct what didn’t go so well.”
“I hope to see a packed Juventus Stadium and that our fans make their voices heard to push the team forward.
“We need the crowd to rise to the big occasion. We want to be in the semi-final.”
Conte’s side certainly has the ability to do so, and the return of Arturo Vidal will bolster the side. Elsewhere we can expect to see more Europa League rotation.
The backline is expected to remain as it has for weeks: Martin Caceres, Leo Bonucci, and, Giorgio Chiellini. Assuming none of these three are fatigued, all should be well. Angelo Ogbonna and Federico Peluso are on the squadsheet, so they will be available should any of the defenders need a substitution.
Per usual Juve’s starting midfield is predictable: Paul Pogba, Claudio Marchisio, and, Arturo Vidal. Andrea Pirlo is expected to get a well-deserved rest. It’s nice to have Pirlo on the bench, as we can plug him in if our attack is lagging and one of our midfielders is having a lousy day.
Up top the situation is a tad less clear. Carlos Tevez is an automatic start, for sure. After that, who knows. Last week it seemed Vucinic would get the start, he didn’t. Dani Osvaldo started, and played pretty terribly. Mediaset reports that Osvaldo is the likely starter alongside Tevez. Let’s hope for Vucinic or Giovinco instead. Or perhaps Fernando Llorente, fresh off of his doppietta versus Livorno.
Lyon
Lyon won 2-1 in Ligue One this weekend. This is the only thing they have going for them at the moment.
In fact they now have one more injured player. Wide player Henri Bedimo was taken off on the weekend with an injury. Bedimo had a rough game last week, so perhaps it is not a huge lost.It is also worth noting that Bafetimbi Gomis (who is predicted to start alongside Alexandre Lacazatte) scored one of their two goals over the weekend.
In back, Samuel Umtiti and Sidy Kone are projected to again start. Umtiti had a fine match versus Juventus, but Kone had an error that led to Bonucci’s goal. For our sake, let’s hope Kone keeps that up and Umtiti’s play suffers.
Lyon’s game with Paris Saint Germain, three days after the Europa League tie, will probably be weighing heavily on their minds. Also in Juve’s favor, Lyon lost their last away game in Europa League to Viktoria Plzen. They won the tie, but at this point they are going to need two goals to get through. We’ll see if they can do that.
First! Forza Juve!
Don’t understand it?Not showing Juve tomorrow night in the uk but the other 3 quarter finals are being shown!!!!Bollocks,im guttered now.
you have to move to canada – they show all the games here…
I wish mate lol.Hopefully i can livestream the game.
I know, I was just shocked that they showed the last one! Guess we can’t have it all!
Marc mate,if you come across a good link could you let me know dude,cheers.
Yeah, those dutch ones are normaly pretty good, ill link you if they have a good one tonight
cheers mate,much apprieciated.
atletico is the first team to knock out barca in the qf of the cl since we did it back in 2003
thats a cool fact
yesterday was a let down, but today was a success! Man u and Barca out!
any preferences for the friday draw?
tbh, im fine with any draw
i need your help… is Juve s match on at 12:05 for the west coast best coast tomorrow? the concept of time and or time translation has escaped my understanding, so im unsure. please and thank you.
Its 2:05 my time so that would be 12:05 your time
could care less .. once my team is out, that’s it … I’ll watch in interest, but I dont care ..
supposedly, Messi only ran 6km during Barcas defeat to Athletico Madrid. Pintu ran 5.3km…
Maybe the drugs have finally worn off
Apparantly Peluso and Isla starting on the wings, Llorente and one of Pogba/Vidal/Pirlo will be rested
Peluso will be busy tonight,hope we see some end product from him.Annoys me when i watch him play.
He can be good and is certainly one of the better crossers on the team but with the lack of playing time im not sure this is the best idea
can put a strong tackle in,when did he last play?
Against trabzonspor i think
bloody hell!a while then!
I agree with Marc on this, he can be good and is a worker, but he is out of practice and he tackles way too harsh. I expect him to get a yellow card :p
guaranteed yellow lol,best not be red though lol
If so he better starts looking for a new team after the game xD
my very first juve flag,if you look close enough you will see the bolognese!!!i used to eat my sunday dinner round my grandads and listen to juve games on a shitty wireless!!!don’t know how he did it to be honest,finding a lw link to a juve game on a sunday afternoon from the uk lol.i was about 3 or 4,kept it ever since.my grandad got it from a juve stall in the season of 1965-66!!!!
A piece of history :d
yesterday…today……FOREVER!!!!!
Reading Vucinic is set to start along with Tevez
if he is hungry tonight he can do a job for us,come on vucinic!
Yes! That’s the creativity we need up top.
JUVE!!!!!! LETS DO THIS SHIT!!!!!! FORZA JUVE!!!!!!!
Dutch stream
https://dazsports.org/daz4.html
great stream,cheers dude
GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PIRLOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I knew it… Freaking shit stream stopped when free kick was awarded. When i found a new stream it was 1-0 already. PIRLOOOOOOOOOOO
Marry me Pirlo
Bro we’re all gay for Pirlo lol
Every man is gay for Pirlo, whether they admit it or not 😛
I started laughing when it went in because it was so obvious. I swear his freekick success rate is like 80%
Higher
Btw, does anyone else wonder what the hell is different this match compared to the last one? Why are our passes so much better? We need so much more consistency if we want to compete in the CL next season.
Home game
Home or away, we’re supposed to be able to play at about the same level. We were completely terrible last game. Idk if it’s our players or just Conte changing tactics.
It’s only 8 minutes in
I swear pirlo has a higher chance of scoringa free kick, than a penalty
Hey dino have you found a decent stream? Can’t find one
firstrowsports.eu
https://gofirstrow.eu/watch/253020/1/watch-juventus-vs-olympique-lyon.html
English and they seem intelligent.
the one dutch posted dude
It’s not working for me anymore though
Noooohohooo I missed the goal, logged in now 🙁 was it a good one and from who? :p
Pirlo freekick, nuff said.
That actually is enough xD ty
In the midst of all this, Happy Birthday Roberto Carlos, 41 today!!
Well that sucks
Complacency.
How?
Fuck off Isla
Once again, fuck off Isla.
Sevilla winning Porto on agg now.
Would be good to see Porto go out, the strongest team in the EL if you ask me. Besides Juve then
3-0 wow. agg 3-1
Yeah just saw it, nice one. Good for the coefficient race too :p
Vidal needs to up his game. Been slackin lately.
Fuck off Isla
Would you feel better if i was Padoin?
In all honesty right now yeah. He’s been doing more wrongs than right…. Atleast Padoin doesn’t do anything at all.
I would put in Giovinco for Isla.
Bonucci should stop with those long passes. This game is far from over. Lichtsteiner should come in for Isla, Vucinic should be subbed too
referee is failing kinda hard this game, 2handballs, Tevez pulled down in their box, corner that wasnt a corner (resulting in Lyon goal) and now this yellow for nothing, get your act together dude
I think he’s the same cunt from the Real – Barca game.
Dude tone the language down..
Not possible, I’m a horrible person so it’s mandatory that I curse lol 😀
I feel so sorry for Tevez omg
Wait, why was that cancelled???
Nvm, offside
europe hates Tevez
You have to feel sorry for Tevez though…
Seriously this is incredibly risky. Just get us a goal already
This ref is so against us.
PRINCIPINO 😀
finally
CLAUDIO IL PRINCIPINO!!!!!!!!!
MARCHISIO!!!
I LOVE YOU MARCHISIO <3
Man marchisio angled that drive of their defender perfectly! lol forza Marchisio <3
<3teamPrincipino
You two always sound as if you’re the only two ppl who like him :p
everyone likes Marchisio, but us, we dont simply like him, we belong to <3teamPrincipno…
<3teamPrincipino!!
Marry him already! I bet you would try! 😛
i wouldnt. hes already married and im no hootchy bent on destroying marriages :p
Sounds like you tried and got burned buddy 😛
i did not! i respect the beauty and sanctity of marriage!
Just kidding :p
Dai Paul Labile!!
This referee really doesn’t like us much
Retarded referee!!!
Wow Sevilla going 4-0 against Porto and Valencia now 3-0 too, they might just beat Basel after all!
I’m gonna watch thhe Basel game after this if it goes to ET. Seems interesting.
Sevilla also have 10 men
Gio just got his ass kicked by the sideboard 😛
Holy crap that tackle looked like something out of a Michael Bay movie lol
these guys are BULLIES
Gio has been doing so well lately, right up until that final shot. I’ve got a feeling that once one goes in he’ll start getting a lot more, same for tevez and Europe at the moment, once he gets one the floodgates will open
Tevez so unlucky today, hopefully he’ll break his European curse in the next game! Same for Gio, the little man deserves a goal
imagine we reach the final and Tevez nets the winner….
finishing has never been his strong point. the ball will stick to him like glue and he can do amazing things with it. except for finish
It’s never been his strong point but it’s always been something he could do, I’ve been happy with how hes been playing of late so to me I don’t mind if the goal doesn’t come but I think its something he needs to gain that extra bit of confidence
he’s 27. he’s not a developing player anymore. he could do with more confidence but he’ll never be a good finisher
age does not matter. you can always evolve and grow no matter what season you are at in life!
true. he can improve his finishing but he’ll never be a good finisher. many people still look at seba as some youth product who has yet to achieve his potential. he’s in the prime of his career right now
this is not his prime. you dont have to be young to still have potential. skill and talent has nothing to do with age imo.
skill and talent don’t but players dont improve leap and bounds in their late 20s
i agree to an extent. players dont usually improve drastically in the later stages of their careers, but it can happen, but it all depends on how eager and hungry the player is.
Gio shouldnt focus on scoring, he should focus on creating goals. i still remember that match against Chelsea(yea i know, that was ages ago) where he took players on and created chance after chance after chance. his strength do not lie in goal scoring, but the creation of goals. if he would let go of the desire to score goals and focus on his strengths, his true self will come out and im more than certain that down the road, he will develop that top class goal scoring ability without even trying
JUVE IN THE SEMIS!!!!!!!
Not the best game, but whatever.
So, Porto is out, I like that a lot 😛 Nothing against Porto but they were the strongest possible opponent imo. Juve and Benfica through, Sevilla as well somehow. Valencia and Basel going into ET, Basel slight advantage I think? (score 1 goal and Valencia is in big trouble)
Who would you guys prefer to draw next? Benfica, Sevilla, Basel/Valencia?
Think I prefer Basel or Sevilla then
Sevilla for me, dont want Basel they always seem to do well against the big clubs
i want sevilla or basel in the sf
I wouldnt mind playin basel they hv 2 red carded players lol
marchisio’s goal has been chalked off and given as an own goal to umtiti 🙁
Uefa are gonna regret doing that.
thats dumb, the way Ive always understood own goals is, if the ball is already going on frame before its touched, the goal is credited to the shooter.
apparently it wasn’t on target. it was going out but deflected in so thats why it was given as an own goal
o, it looked like it was on target from the camera angle i saw. o well.
new thread