Juventus v Chelsea predictions: European champions can show their class in Turin

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Juventus v Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 2, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

Chelsea
2pts Evs general

Team news

Juventus
Forwards Paolo Dybala and Alvaro Morata have been ruled out after going off injured at the weekend. Arthur and Kaio Jorge remain sidelined and Adrien Rabiot is a doubt.

Chelsea
N'Golo Kante (illness) is out and Jorginho is a doubt. Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Reece James are out. Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech are pushing for starts in support of Romelu Lukaku.

Match preview

Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season ended with a 1-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester City on Saturday but Thomas Tuchel's men should respond with a Champions League victory away to Juventus.

A trip to Turin to face Juve is traditionally one of the toughest assignments in European football but Chelsea, who knocked out Atletico Madrid, Porto and Real Madrid before beating City in last season's Champions League final, have little to fear from the current Old Lady side.

After winning nine Serie A titles in a row, Juventus could finish only fourth last season, securing Champions League qualification by just one point from Napoli.

Massimiliano Allegri took over from Andrea Pirlo but the coach's second spell at the club has not started smoothly. Cristiano Ronaldo, Serie A's top scorer last season despite Juve's struggles, has left for Manchester United and Allegri must take on the European champions without forwards Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata, who both went off injured during the weekend win over Sampdoria.

Juventus beat Samp 3-2, having won by the same scoreline at Spezia in their previous Serie A match, but they had taken only two points from their first four league games and have conceded ten times in six outings this term.

That statistic is a concern against a team as hard to beat as Chelsea. Juve made a winning start to their European campaign with a 3-0 victory at Malmo on matchday one but they may well be exposed by Tuchel's progressive Blues in their second group game.

Chelsea enjoyed their away days in the group stage last season under Frank Lampard, winning 4-0 at Krasnodar, 2-1 at Rennes and 4-0 at Sevilla, and they started their trophy defence with a 1-0 home win over Zenit St Petersburg.

Romelu Lukaku scored the only goal of the game and the prolific Belgian has given Chelsea an attacking focal point that they lacked last season.

Their Champions League success was built on an outstanding defensive record, conceding only two goals in seven knockout ties, and Juve's second-string forward line of Moise Kean and Swedish youngster Dejan Kulusevski can expect a tough night.

N'Golo Kante's absence through illness is a blow but Italy's Euro 2020 star Jorginho and the resurgent Mateo Kovacic remain a solid midfield partnership and Chelsea look a far more balanced unit than an uncharacteristically flaky Juventus side.

The weekend trip to Stamford Bridge seemed to bring out the best in Manchester City but before that defeat Chelsea had claimed 3-0 league wins over Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Tottenham, eased to a 2-0 victory at Arsenal and impressed in a 1-1 draw at Liverpool where they played the entire second half with ten men.

The Blues are serious contenders for every major trophy this season and they should outclass their depleted hosts in Turin.

Key stat

None of Chelsea's last 22 matches in all competitions produced over 3.5 goals.

Inside info

Juventus

Penalty taker Leonardo Bonucci
Free-kick wizard Juan Cuadrado
Set-piece aerial threat Matthijs de Ligt
Card magnet Rodrigo Bentancur

Chelsea

Penalty taker Jorginho
Free-kick wizardMarcos Alonso
Set-piece aerial threatAntonio Rudiger
Card magnet Antonio Rudiger

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