Sporting Lisbon vs Juventus

While waiting for the court to deliver the verdict on their 15-point deduction appeal, Juventus head to the Estadio Jose Alvalade to take on Sporting Lisbon in the return leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie.

After a narrow 1-0 first-leg defeat in Turin, Sporting Lisbon failed to bounce back at the weekend, drawing 1-1 with the Primeira Liga surprise package Arouca at home. Having lost precious ground on Champions League placings, Ruben Amorim’s men are hell-bent on reaching the Europa League semis for only the second time in the club’s history. However, there’s a catch. ‘Los Leoes’ have suffered elimination in the last six two-legged European ties after losing the first leg since overcoming Everton in the 2009/10 Europa League round of 16. Moreover, they’ve bowed out in all six of their previous six two-legged ties versus Italian opposition and are winless in their last four European outings on home turf (D2, L2).

In the meantime, Juventus’ much-changed line-up slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Sassuolo last weekend, seeing ‘I Bianconeri’ lose touch with the Serie A top four. Unless the court gives them back 15 points, the visitors’ best chance of reaching next season’s Champions League is to lift the Europa League, emphasizing the significance of this fixture. Massimiliano Allegri’s men cannot afford to let a slender aggregate lead tuck them into a false sense of security, considering they’ve suffered three defeats on their last five competitive travels (W2). Furthermore, the record-time Italian champions have lost on their two most recent visits to Portuguese clubs in major European competitions. On a more positive note, they’ve strung together four European triumphs ‘to nil’ for the first time since the 2016/17 Champions League season.