Overview
Villarreal have qualified for the top flight of Europe thanks to their impressive sprint last season. This is their first time returning to the Champions League since the 2021-2022 season.
They finished fifth in La Liga last season with a run of six consecutive wins, and are starting the new season in a similar scenario.
After 7 rounds, Villarreal has 16 points. They just defeated Athletic Bilbao 1-0 last weekend, and are currently second only to the two "big guys" Barcelona and Real Madrid.
However, their European campaign did not start smoothly. In the opening match of this month, goalkeeper Luiz Junior's own goal mistake caused Villarreal to lose points in England.
The "Golden Submarine" have lost just one of their last nine home games in European competition, but most of them have come in the Europa League. In the Champions League, they have won just two of their last 12 home games.
One of them was a resounding victory over Juventus in the round of 16 3 years ago. They drew 1-1 at home, then won 4-1 to make a historic mark.
Juventus ended the League Phase of last season in 20th place, then stopped against PSV Eindhoven in the knockout round. Therefore, their biggest goal in the coming months is to enter the top 8 of this tournament.
This achievement will help the Bianconeri advance straight to the round of 16, but the Turin team is under no small pressure to achieve the desired results.
Just a few days after a thrilling win over Inter Milan in the d'Italy derby, Juventus entered the European campaign with a tense score chase.
After an equaliser in the second half, Juventus conceded two more goals to Dortmund in the final minutes and seemed to have suffered a defeat at home. However, they surprisingly scored two goals in extra time to have an emotional 4-4 draw.
Dusan Vlahovic, who came off the bench, became the inspiration for that comeback. However, it was Lloyd Kelly who was the real hero with the equalizer in the final seconds.
However, this result only shows Juventus' disappointing streak in the Champions League. They have only won 6 of their last 20 matches.
Since then, coach Igor Tudor's call for calm has been responded to by his students. However, Juventus have only had lackluster results in Serie A. They have had 2 consecutive 1-1 draws against Hellas Verona and Atalanta.
In their most recent appearance, the Bianconeri overwhelmed Atalanta in Turin but only needed Juan Cabal's own goal in the 78th minute to share the points.
Personnel situation
Villarreal will not have the services of defenders will will will have to make make make use of Will Kambwala and Juan Foyth due to injury. Meanwhile, Pau Navarro is absent due to being on duty with the Spain U20 team.
In addition, the possibility of the duo Gerard Moreno (hamstring injury) and Ayoze Perez (closed) playing is still uncertain, after both did not feature in the match against Athletic Bilbao last weekend.
Up front, Tajon Buchanan is the number one striker of the "Golden Submarine" with 3 goals in La Liga this season. However, Ayoze Perez is a familiar partner of Georges Mikautadze.
On the other side of the front line, Juventus are also under great pressure in arranging their attack. Jonathan David, Buchanan's teammate in the Canadian national team, is competing for a starting spot with Dusan Vlahovic and Lois Openda.
Vlahovic made his mark with three direct involvements in the 4-4 draw with Dortmund, despite only coming on in the 60th minute. With the two opponents still "unharmed", Igor Tudor is likely to continue to trust the Serbian striker.
In midfield, Fabio Miretti is still sidelined with a thigh injury, while Bremer (knee) and Khephren Thuram ( calf) will be assessed to be in good shape for the match.
The good news for Juventus is that Francisco Conceicao has returned to normal training and can participate from the start.
Expected lineup:
Villarreal: Junior, Mourino, Marin, Veiga, Cardona, Buchanan, Gueye, Comesana, Solomon, Pepe, Mikautadze.
Juventus: Di Gregorio, Kalulu, Bremer,elly, Mario, Thuram, Locatelli, changeaso, Conceicao, Yildiz, David.
The match between Villarreal and Juventus takes place at 2:00 am on October 2 (Vietnam time).
