Juventus faces Villarreal in the knockout stages of the Champions League as they look to make an impression in the competition this season.
The Bianconeri topped their group, which included Chelsea, to make the next round of the competition.
On paper, Villarreal is one of the easiest draws we can get, but we might shoot ourselves in the foot if we take the Spaniards for granted.
Juve has invested in their squad in the last transfer window. We expect Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria to help the team do better in Europe and domestic competitions.
It is easy to think Villarreal is not good enough to stop Max Allegri’s men. However, Gianfranco Zola doesn’t think so.
The former Chelsea assistant manager worked with Maurizio Sarri on the bench of the English club.
Current Villarreal boss, Unai Emery was Arsenal’s manager at that time and Zola learnt firsthand what it means to face the Spaniard’s team.
He said via Il Bianconero: “Juve? Favorite, but only slightly. When I was Sarri’s assistant at Chelsea, I understood what it means preparing a match against Emery. And in Atalanta-Villarreal I strengthened my conviction: in one-off matches he is one of the best.”
Juve FC Says
The Champions League gives room for upsets and Juve has been embarrassed out of the competition in the last two seasons.
Lyon knocked us out in 2020, while FC Porto did the same thing last year.
We need to learn from those experiences and take Villarreal seriously in this fixture.
Allegri has reached the final of the competition two times. We can trust him to have a game plan that will ensure victory for us.
