Matchday 3 of UEFA Champions League Football is upon us. One of the fixtures is a Group D clash involving the first meeting between European giants Juventus FC and Russian challengers FC Lokomotiv Moscow. The game comes up at the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday, October 22nd with an 8 PM. kick-off time.
Juventus go into this game knowing not to expect any love from their plucky Russian opponents. They are unlikely to underestimate Lokomotiv who have proved they can be a handful which they demonstrated away to Bayer 04 Leverkusen winning surprisingly 2-1. The two-time Champions League winners will be looking for another win to consolidate their hold on Group D.
The Old Lady’s last outing in the Champions League was a comprehensive 3-0 win at home to German side Leverkusen, with goals from Gonzalo Higuain, Federico Bernardeschi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star forward has been firing on full cylinders in recent weeks and will be keen to continue his hot streak after reaching and surpassing his 700 goals milestone this past week.
Coach Maurizio Sarri’s men have displayed deadly efficiency so far in the way they have gone about their campaign. The attack led by Ronaldo has started well scoring 5 goals in two matches.
It’s in the defence that the Manager will be seeking that typical ruthless defending, that past Italian teams were known for especially after conceding two late goals against Atletico Madrid on Matchday 1. Coach Sarri will be hoping this puts them on good footing as they continue in their hunt for a third Champions League Trophy.
However, in their way, for now, are a Russian team looking to make a name for themselves. Lokomotiv Moscow will rightly go into the match against the Italian giants full of confidence, especially after their last away outing.
Coach Yuri Semin will be hoping his men can upset the applecart and claim the huge scalp of the Old Lady. The Moscow side are definitely no pushovers. They can also call on a talented line-up with players like Dmitri Barinov and former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak, who combined to devastating effect when they defeated Leverkusen in their opening Group D clash.
It will be intriguing to see how this game will pan out as favourites Juventus resume their European campaign.
Juventus are fancied at 1.23 to beat Lokomotiv Moscow, while Lokomotiv are available at 14.88 to claim a shock victory.
Written by: Ayotunde Omolayole
