UEFA Champions League: PSG vs. Juventus Preview, Odds, Prediction

Paris Saint Germain hosts Juventus in the opening game of their UEFA Champions League edition. Parc des Princes will be overcrowded, that is for sure, because the French champions meet with one of the most prominent teams on the continent and the biggest rival in Group H. The Saints are the favorites, not only due to a home-field edge but because of their fantastic shape. On the other side, the Old Lady is in the process of a rebuild, still not having the proper chemistry on the field.

Preview

PSG (-330) was routine on Saturday night against Nantes on the road, winning the contest, 0-3, not having any particular problems in any aspect of the game. What was very important for the head coach Christophe Galtier, is that his players didn’t spend too much of their energy.

Since the start of the competitive part of the year, PSG played seven games, and in six of them, the Saints scored at least three or more goals, and the same events ended with over 2.5 scores. The only one that didn’t end like that was against Monaco, 1-1 in Paris.

The fantastic attack is relentless, with Neymar, Mbappe and Messi leading the way, finally looking as sharp as expected. But we need to point out that good results weren’t only because of them, but also, due to the entire team.

Juventus (+650) is struggling to provide consistency, which was obvious in recent days. The Old Lady didn’t lose a single game in the Serie A, but they posted just two wins in five appearances.

The most recent event against Fiorentina in Florence ended 1-1, with Juve avoiding a defeat and having a lot of luck. Three days before that, the Old Lady was better than Spezia at home, 2-0, and before that, they had two draws in a row, in Genoa against Sampdoria, 0-0, and at home vs. Roma and Mourinho, 1-1.

The previous four games Juventus had were all with under 2.5 goals, which is something we didn’t expect to see from them. This team has quite a solid offensive potential with Vlahovic, Di Maria, Kostic, Milik, etc.

Latest News

Icardi and Pembele are out for the home team.

Juventus has problems. Ake, Chiesa, Kaio Jorge, Peeters, and Pogba won’t play. Szczesny and Rabiot are questionable.

Head to Head Games

The two sides met in the 2017 friendly game, and Juve won, 2-3. Prior to that, their last meeting was in 1997, once Juve and PSG met in the European Super Cup. We saw two games then, and Juventus obliterated the Saints, beating them 1-6 in Paris and then 3-1 at home in Turin.

Prediction

The difference in quality is just way too big, and we really expect to see the hosts rolling over the Old Lady. This is the UCL opener and PSG wants to send a message to all the other rivals, which is why we expect to see them ruthless and confident. Our pick here is PSG to win and cover a 1.5-goal spread. For those who are willing to risk, go with PSG scoring three goals.

Pick: PSG -1.5 -105

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