Juventus vs. PSV Eindhoven: UCL Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

On Tuesday night, Juventus will host PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their Champions League playoff fight. Neither team wants to endure an unpleasant first.

Thiago Motta's squad had one of the finest defensive units in the league phase, but they managed to finish in twentieth place, with their Dutch rivals securing a spot in the playoffs in fourteenth.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

In keeping with Massimiliano Allegri's practical legacy, Juve manager Motta saw the Old Lady score only seven goals in eight league phase matches, the second-best defensive record among the clubs that did not immediately qualify for the round of 16.

But Juve scored only nine goals in all competitions, the second-worst record among the top 24 clubs. The Bianconeri have won just once in their past six Champions League matches, a 2-0 triumph over Manchester City on December 11.

Even if losing 2-0 to Benfica on the last day of the tournament didn't matter, Juventus may become the first team in Champions League history to lose three home games in a season after losing to Stuttgart.

Since their loss to the Portuguese giants, Juventus have begun to win more often in Serie A; on February 2, they cruised over Empoli 4-1, and on Friday, they edged out Como 2-1 with the help of their new French hero.

If Juve were to beat Cesc Fabregas's team on Tuesday, they would win three games for the first time this season. Randal Kolo Muani, on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, scored four and five goals for his new club, with the winning goal coming in the 89th minute.

On the last day of the season, Peter Bosz's PSV Eindhoven faced the most intimidating home matchup against an undefeated Liverpool side. However, they were still mathematically hunting for the top eight slots.

Arne Slot made several changes on his return to the Netherlands, even though Liverpool had already qualified, much to the pleasure of the Eindhoven fans. PSV ruined Liverpool's perfect 2024-25 campaign record with an enthralling 3-2 victory.

It was no surprise that Tuesday's visitors ended up in one of the eight seeded playoff spots, even though the Dutch giants tried everything in their power to make the top eight on the penultimate matchday. For that scenario to have materialized, it would have required an implausible series of outcomes.

After Saturday's disappointing 1-1 draw with Willem II, Bosz's men will be surpassed at the top of the Eredivisie table by a rejuvenated Ajax if the Amsterdam giants win both of their remaining games. This suggests that PSV may have more important matters than an unrealistic pursuit of Champions League glory.

Looking on the bright side, that draw extended PSV's undefeated record to six matches and their scoring streak to eleven games in all competitions. However, they had previously been defeated this term by Juve, losing 3-1 in the league phase in their first-ever big European clash.

Juventus x PSV Eindhoven Team News

As one of five issues Motta must address before the first leg, defender Pierre Kalulu has not yet recovered from a muscle injury he sustained in the first half of Juve's last Champions League home loss to Benfica.

Bremer and Juan Cabal are still out with ACL injuries; Arkadiusz Milik will be out until next month with a calf injury; and defender Andrea Cambiaso is out with an ankle injury, despite Manchester City's interest in him in January, according to his agency.

Motta should start Nicolo Savona in Europe's first match, even if Newcastle United loanee Lloyd Kelly made his Juve debut in Friday's victory over Como to replace Savona at halftime.

With Olivier Boscagli dealing with a muscle injury and Adamo Nagalo substituting for PSV's match with Willem II over the weekend, Bosz may face a defensive conundrum.

On the other hand, Armando Obispo and Ryan Flamingo are both available again after serving a Champions League suspension; Tyrell Malacia, who Manchester United owns, was named to the starting lineup against Willem II but might be benched in favor of Mauro Junior.

The Rood-Witten are without injured players Richard Ledezma (head), Ricardo Pepi (knee), and Malik Tillman (ankle). The team is led by the legendary 34-year-old striker Luuk de Jong, who has scored 14 goals this season in all competitions.

Our Predictions

Juventus to win @ 1.94 on Sky247.ng

Juventus, who excel at breaking deadlocks, have finally won a Champions League match this season thanks to Kolo Muani's blistering offensive play. Juventus has already defeated PSV once this season.

Our money is on Motta's squad to take a slim lead into the second leg in Eindhoven, yet we could see the Dutch team scoring in any of their offensive incursions.

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