Champions League Semifinal: Juventus vs Monaco
Published May 9, 2017 by Sol FH
The second leg of the Champions League semifinal gets underway tonight at 19:45 GMT.
Monaco travel to Juventus Stadium in need of a big win if they are to make the final of the Champions League. After losing a tough match in the first leg at home to Juventus, Monaco are now facing an uphill battle against arguably the best defense in the world right now. Juventus were tough and kept yet another clean sheet in Game 1, but Monaco played an incredible game even if they couldn't penetrate Buffon's goal.
Juventus and Monaco are in an eerily similar semifinals as was in 1997-98. Juventus also beat Monaco back then, and made the final only to lose to Real Madrid. The other semifinal between Real and Athletico looks as though Real will advance, so we will most-likely see the same final as we did 21 years ago. Five of the six times that Juventus made it to the semis, they have made it to the finals. The Turin side have won the championship twice, but not since 1995/96 season.
The real question is if Monaco can be the first team to beat Juventus in the tournament. The Italian defense has been simply unstoppable, allowing just two goals throughout the competition, and those goals were not from open play. Juventus also have some incredible forwards, making them a true double-threat.
Monaco will be counting on their young stars to make the miracle comeback. Last match was the first time that Mbappe did not find the back of the net after having started the match. Falcao and Mbappe are the leading scorers for the French side, scoring 10 of the team's last 16 goals.
Champions League Betting Markets
bet365 Sports is in favor and expecting a Juventus win, posting at 1.61. Monaco rolls in at 6.00 and they will be playing for survival, so it could be worthwhile to make a wager on the underdogs.
