Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Champions League match.
Juventus have gone three matches without a win, drawing each of them, whereas Villarreal have climbed to third in La Liga thanks to three consecutive victories. However, this is a different competition — the Champions League, the tournament both squads fought all year to reach.
Villarreal
In the opening round both teams failed to win. Juventus at least took a point, while Villarreal left empty‑handed from London, where they visited Tottenham Hotspur (0:1). The winger was very active, frequently moving in from the right into central areas of the penalty area (0.25 xG from 0.48), but Villarreal conceded following a goalkeeping error by Luís Júnior, turning the ball into his own net. He should not be underestimated. Several important saves from him helped the team beat Sevilla (2:1) and then Athletic Bilbao (1:0) in La Liga last week.
Juventus
After the goal‑laden games in mid‑September — 4:3 against Inter Milan and 4:4 against Borussia Dortmund — Juventus have cooled off. Their output was not helped by opponents more adept at defending: Hellas Verona (1:1) and Atalanta (1:1). Up front, Dušan Vlahović has been shouldering the attacking burden and has finally found his scoring touch (four goals). Others have contributed only sporadically. Kenan Yıldız is dangerous with long‑range strikes (two goals), while Jonathan David has scored just once so far. It is also likely that the scorer of the only goal against Hellas Verona, Francisco Conceição, will not feature in Spain. The Portuguese player has a muscle injury.
Villarreal vs Juventus Prediction
In addition, Villarreal are so well-drilled that it is very difficult to score more than once against them. The team have scored more than two only against Girona (5:0). Taking all of this into account, we expect the hosts to collect at least a point, and for this to be a low‑scoring game. Why not back a Villarreal win? Because Juventus still possess a superb set of performers.
