Let the battle of Berlin commence.
Tonight’s Champions League final will be a far cry from the Serie B games Juventus were playing just a few seasons ago. Their rejuvenation as a European powerhouse has simply been amazing and tonight could be their crowning glory.
There’s just one team standing in their way. Barcelona.
The Catalans have a strikeforce that has amassed a staggering 120 goals between them this season. Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi just cannot stop scoring.
The three South Americans have already helped Barcelona to the La Liga and Copa del Ray titles and it would take a brave person to bet against them leading Barcelona to another trophy tonight.
Juventus are also aiming for a treble tonight, having already won the domestic cup and league double. A large part of their success came from a stringent defence, which isn’t a huge surprise for followers of the Italian league.
Giorgio Chiellini has been at the heart of that defence all season but he is missing from tonight’s encounter.
The Italian international was injured during training on Wednesday and will be unable to face Barcelona and Luis Suarez, the man who bit him at the World Cup, tonight.
Juventus aren’t all about defence though. They have Paul Pogba and the enigmatic Arturo Vidal pushing from midfield, while Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morato are a potent strikeforce themselves.
If they are to claim their first Champions League title since 1996, they’ll need all those players to be on song. We just cannot see it happening and predict a 3-1 win for Barcelona.
But anything can happen. This is the Champions League final after all.
