Real Madrid and Juventus meet for the first time since their Champions League semifinals duel earlier this year.
Cristiano Ronaldo was spectacular for Real Madrid during the first leg as he scored two goals including that iconic bicycle kick which has been shown over and over again in highlight reels. Juventus won the second leg with the score of 3-1 but they lost the series via aggregates at 4-3.
Real Madrid dropped their first preseason match in the International Champions Cup, losing 1-2 against a struggling Manchester United side which team manager Mourinho referred to as playing 30% of full strength.
Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui opted to start with a weaker XI against Manchester United and the latter responded with a quick 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera. Real Madrid pulled to within one after a score by Karim Benzema.
With the likes of Marco Asensio, Dani Carvajal, Isco, Toni Kroos and Keylor Navas well rested after coming off the bench as substitutes against Manchester United, Real Madrid should have a solid starting XI against Juventus.
After the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the onus is on Gareth Bale to lead the Real Madrid attack. Injuries have hampered him at Los Blancos but this may be the best opportunity for him to stake his claim. Bale started against Manchester United but wasn’t able to make an impact for Real.
The other player that is expected to shine in Ronaldo’s absence is Spaniard Isco, who was the best player on Spain’s frustrated World Cup bid. Isco could be useful to Juventus at the #10 position or the left wing. As we noted earlier, he didn’t start the Manchester United match and only entered the game at the 77th minute of play.
On the other hand, Juventus has been spotless so far in this preseason tournament. The Old Lady defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 in their preseason opener and then held Benfica to a 1-1 draw before prevailing 4-2 in a penalty shootout. Juventus followed these up with another penalty win (5-3) against the Major League Soccer all-stars in their most recent match.
Juventus has made several key moves in this transfer window including the blockbuster addition of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid. The Old Lady also acquired Leonardo Bonucci who re-joins Juventus in a deal which sends Matt Caldara the other way and Gonzalo Higuain who will be on loan to AC Milan next season.
Wojciech Szczesny is the heir to the throne relinquished by Gianluigi Buffon. He will have a long season ahead of him as the Old Lady tries to win the Champions League title. His job begins on August 4th as he needs to be on his toes to defend his post against Real Madrid’s potent offense led by Gale, Benzema and Isco.
We know that the teams participating in the current 2018 International Champions Cup are playing short handed. Some teams don’t have their key players who participated in the recent 2018 FIFA World Cup while some are missing players due to injuries. Given their tour line-ups, these are the possible XI for both sides come August 4th:
The last 8 matches between these two sides have been even with both Real Madrid and Juventus winning three matches each and the two squads figuring in a draw twice. In their most recent encounter at the 2017-18 Champions League semi finals, Real Madrid prevailed in Bernabeu 3-0 but dropped the next match at Turin 1-3 with Real Madrid advancing on aggregates 4-3.
Real Madrid is still looking for its form without Cristiano Ronaldo and that may be the reason why Lopetegui experimented with his line-up against Manchester United and started with an XI that was considered weak. There is a chance he will start with a better XI against Juventus but again, this is just a friendly where their major concern is for the team to prepare for the season.
Based on current form, Juventus has looked better. But after having one game under their belt, maybe Real Madrid has shaken off the cobwebs. Still, it’s hard not to side with Juventus who are on a roll and are looking to end their International Champions Cup campaign on a high note. We’re picking Juventus to beat Real Madrid on 8/4/18..
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