Real Madrid will take on Juventus in the upcoming pre-season friendly on Saturday. This match will be played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the United States of America.
For Los Blancos, this will be the third and last pre-season game, before they fight for the UEFA Super Cup against Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt. Having failed to win any of their first couple of friendlies, they will be desperate to win this particular tie.
On the other hand, this will be the third pre-season match for Juventus as well, but not their last. In fact, the Old Lady will play two more matches following this game, one of them being against Real Madrid’s arch-rivals, Atletico Madrid. Unlike the defending UEFA Champions League winners, the Serie A outfit has done fairly well in their friendly outings. Hence, Massimiliano Allegri will expect more of the same from his boys.
Current Form
Real Madrid started their pre-season campaign in the worst manner possible – by losing the El Clasico against Barcelona. Raphinha scored the winner for the Catalans in this match, though it has to be noted that Ancelotti missed his star striker, Karim Benzema.
The Frenchman not only played in the last friendly against Mexican outfit Club America, but he also found the back of the net. Moreover, out-of-form Eden Hazard also scored from the penalty spot. However, despite these two goals, strikes from Henry Martin and Alvaro Fidalgo saw the Spanish side settling for a 2-2 stalemate.
Juventus also faced a Mexican outfit in Guadalajara in their first pre-season friendly. Unlike Real Madrid, they did not face any difficulties in registering a win in this match, as goals from youngsters Marco Da Graca and Mattia Compagnon saw them secure a 2-0 win.
The last match against Barcelona, however, was far from easy. Ousmane Dembele’s brace could have easily been enough for the Catalans to get a win, but Juventus had a ‘brace hero’ themselves in Moise Kean, who was able to salvage a 2-2 draw for his team.
Head to Head Record
The head-to-head records between these two teams are neck-and-neck. While Real Madrid has beaten Juventus 11 times, the Old Lady has emerged victoriously on 10 occasions, with only two matches ending in draws.
The last meeting was back in 2018, in the International Champions Cup. Real Madrid won that match 3-1, courtesy of a Marco Asensio brace and a Gareth Bale strike. As for Juventus’ goal, Dani Carvajal netted an own goal.
Team News
Dani Carvajal is expected to feature in this match
Ancelotti is expected to have a fully fit squad at his disposal ahead of this match. Spanish right-back Carvajal, who was nursing an ankle injury, has now recovered and is expected to feature in this game, be it as a substitute.
On the other hand, big stars in the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Benzema, David Alaba and Vinicius Junior are all set to feature against Juventus. Having scored in the last match, Hazard could also be used from the start.
As for Allegri, he will not be able to avail services of new signing Paul Pogba, who has sustained a knee injury and will be out of the game for a significant while. Besides him, Weston McKennie and Dusan Vlahovic were among absentees in the last game, but they have since regained match sharpness and are expected to play in this match.
Though the youngsters have looked promising in this pre-season campaign, the Italian manager is likely to rely mostly on the experienced players for this match, given the strength of the opposition. Veterans like Leonardo Bonucci and Angel Di Maria are expected to be handed starts.
Squads
Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois, Andriy Lunin, Luis López; Lucas Cañizares, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militão, David Alaba, Jesus Vallejo, Nacho, Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy, Alvaro Odriozola, Tobias; Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić, Casemiro, Federico Valverde, Lucas Vasquez, Aurelien Tchouameni, Dani Ceballos, Eduardo Camavinga; Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio, Vini Jr., Rodrygo Goes, Mariano, Latasa.
Juventus: Wojciech Szczesny, Bremes, Danilo, Dusan Vlahovic, Paul Pogba, Juan Cuadrado, Alex Sandro, Weston McKenni, Luca Pellegrini, Nicolo Rovella, Moise Kean, Angel Di Maria, Leonardo Bonucci, Daniele Rugani, Manuel Locatelli, Denis Zakaria, Mattia Perin, Marco De Graca, Mattia Compagnon, Federico Gatti, Matias Soula, Tommaso Barbieri, Giovanni Garofani, Nicolo Cudrig, Nicolo Fagioli, Carlo Pinsoglio.
Prediction
Though Real Madrid has not performed according to the expectations in this pre-season campaign, it has to be taken into consideration that they had a hectic last season, and following the Champions League triumph, many players enjoyed an extended vacation. Having already played two matches now, they will be raring to show their true class in this match, which is why we have predicted them to win this tie.
