Juventus-Benfica: Vlahovic from the start. Latest on the formations and TV schedule

Turin, 29 January 2025 - La Juventus closes this first phase of the Champions League by hosting at the Allianz Stadium the Benfica. In Europe, the Bianconeri are coming off a 0-0 draw away to Bruges, which on the one hand guaranteed them access to the playoffs, but on the other hand almost excluded the Piedmontese from the race for direct qualification to the round of XNUMX. The Portuguese, twenty-first in the standings, are instead coming off a dramatic defeat at home to Barcelona: in order not to be eliminated from the competition they need a positive result.

Previous

Juventus have lost six of their eight previous meetings with Benfica in European competition (W1 D1), losing more in these competitions only against Real Madrid (10). Benfica have won all four of their matches against the Old Lady in the European Cup/Champions League and are one of three teams – with PSG (2/2) and Stuttgart (1/1) – to have won 100% of their matches against the Bianconeri in the competition.

Bianconeri in the eighth finals if...

The participation of the Bianconeri in the playoff phase of the competition is official, but a direct access to the eighth is not yet ruled out, although it is complicated. Juventus is in 17th place with 12 points (goal difference +4). To get into the top eight, the Piedmontese need a victory against the Portuguese, but that is not enough. In fact, at least ten of the twelve teams placed from fifth to sixteenth position must not win.

The words of Thiago Motta

"We will have to be ready to do everything that is needed on the pitch, do it well, overcome the opponent and take home the victory. Cambiaso will not be available because he is treating an ankle problem - the announcement of Thiago Motta - We don't like negative results, and we want to forget them as soon as possible: tomorrow we have a great match to do that. In Europe we did better than in the league, but the goal is always to win, and we are working hard for this. Vlahovic is fine and part of the group, we will see if he will start or if he will come on during the game, Douglas Luiz could have a chance, because he deserves it. The club, with Giuntoli and Scanavino, is always close to the team, and we talk every day about how to improve: at Juve the pressure is always high, because the goal is to win, and tomorrow is an opportunity to play a great game in front of our fans. On the physical decline against Napoli, we had a great first half, but in the second half we dropped and we had to regroup, but now that's a closed chapter, and we are focused on Benfica. We will face this match as a one-off game, because in a big club the only thing that matters is the victory. We have a great opportunity and we are ready to give 100%, or even more".

Conceicao's statements

"We know that Benfica are a quality team, who like to keep the ball, but we want to focus on what we have to do and what we have worked on - commented Francisco Conceicao in view of the Champions League clash - We are working hard to get back on our feet, especially in front of our fans; internal competition pushes us to give our all every day, because we want to demonstrate our abilities. When I heard that Veiga could join Juve, I called him to tell him that he would be joining a big club and I tried to convince him, because I believe he can help us. I have never scored against Benfica, I hope to do so tomorrow, even if the important thing will be the team's result. Both Juve and Benfica have the objective of winning, and we are working every day to improve and bring victories. The coach? He asks me to put my qualities at the disposal of the group: Italian football is very competitive, and I feel I can still grow. We also learned something from the defeat against Napoli: in the first half we played a great game, and there are always positive aspects to start from".

Probable lineups

Juventus  (4-2-3-1): Perin, Savona, Gatti, Kalulu, McKennie; Douglas Luiz, Thuram; Conceicao, Koopmeiners, Mbangula; Vlahovic. Coach Thiago Motta. Subs: Di Gregorio, Pinsoglio, Locatelli, Rouhi, Fagioli, Adzic, Weah, Yildiz, Nico Gonzalez. Unavailable: Bremer, Cabal, Cambiaso, Milik. Suspended: -. Warning: Conceicao, Koopmeiners. Benfica (4-3-3): Trubin, Bah, Otamendi, A. Silva, T.Araujo; Florentino, Aursnes, Kokcu; Di Maria, Pavlidis, Schjelderup. Coach Lage. Subs: Soares, André Gomes, L. Santos, Beste, Bajrami, Fonseca, Barreiro, Nuno Felix, Amdouni, Joao Rego, Rollheiser, Akturkoglu, Prestianni. Unavailable: Sanchez. Suspended: Cabral, Carreras. Warning: Aursnes, Florentino, Kokcu.

Time and where to watch the match

Juventus-Benfica is scheduled for Wednesday 29 January, with kick-off set for 21pm. The match will be broadcast on Sky Sport Uno (201) and Sky Sport (252). The match will also be visible in live streaming on Sky Go (free app for subscribers available on PC, smartphone and tablet) and on the Now website and app (portal with the best of Sky's sports programming accessible through the purchase of specific packages).