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Atletico Madrid vs Juventus 2019 UEFA Champions League Lines & Pick

Atletico Madrid vs Juventus 2019 UEFA Champions League Lines & Pick

Written by on September 18, 2019

Soccer News and Betting Previews| Xbet.ag
As group play gets underway in the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League, two of the top clubs in Europe square off in the first match, with Juventus heading west to take on Atletico Madrid. Juventus made it all the way to the finals in 2017 and looks to make a deep run this year. Atletico Madrid sits in second place in La Liga after four matches in the 2019-20 season, with three wins in four matches, although their last match was a startling upset, as they lost 2-0 at Real Sociedad. In Serie A, Juventus is also stumbling out of the gate, as they played to an ugly 0-0 draw against Fiorentina in their last match. Which team will take the lead in group play when these two meet in Madrid? Read our soccer betting preview to get our take on the match.

Atletico Madrid vs Juventus 2019 UEFA Champions League Lines & Pick

When: Wednesday, September 18, 3:00pm ET Where: Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid TV: ESPN Radio: None Live Stream: ESPN+ Soccer Odds: PK

Why should you bet on Juventus?

Even with that draw at Fiorentina this past weekend, Juventus still has seven points in three Serie A matches — although they have yet to play any of the top sides in the league. Against Fiorentina, Juventus was able to dominate possession, thanks to the play of Cristiano Ronaldo, among others, and the defense has looked solid, led by Matthijs de Ligt on the back line. The team needs more consistency on the attack, though, if they have any hope of making the Champions League final this time. These two teams last met in Champions League a year ago, and Juventus ended up winning the tie. Atletico Madrid had built a sizable lead after their win at home, but then in the fixture in Turin, Ronaldo led a massive comeback and delivered the win for Juventus. Both sides have a great deal of skill, and these are two teams that both take a great deal of pride in their play, and if you like Juventus, you see Ronaldo leading his team to another big win, this time on the road.

Why should you put your money on Atletico Madrid?

The loss to Real Sociedad was a disappointment for Atletico, as Real Sociedad is not one of the strong teams in La Liga. The hosts scored their goals three minutes apart in the second half and outshot Atletico for the match, 14-15 (5-2 on target), possessing for 54 percent of the match. So this was not a case of a team getting a couple of lucky goals in a match that was dominated by the other side. Real Sociedad had better passing accuracy (81% – 77%) and passed the ball 72 more times. The Atletico attack runs through Joao Felix, and the side has looked solid overall in La Liga play — until that debacle against Real Sociedad. Was this just an outlier? Or is Atletico in trouble? It would be a mistake to downgrade a team’s fortunes on the basis of one off afternoon, but a subpar showing against Juventus here should set off some warning bells for the fan base. If you like Atletico, you see them wanting to avenge that knockout round loss to Juventus in the last Champions League as well as to shake off the frustration of the loss to Real Sociedad.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

It is difficult to bet against a team that has Cristiano Ronaldo as part of their attack, but the truth is that Atletico won the home fixture against Juventus in the last Champions League and has kept a form comparable to that of Juventus so far in league play. This should be a tight match with lots of chances for both teams, but I see Atletico taking advantage of a key defensive mistake at just the right time and taking this group play win. I predict a final score of Atletico Madrid 2, Juventus 1.
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