The group stage of the UEFA Champions League for the 2022/23 season is coming to an end, with the penultimate matchday due to begin on Tuesday. The biggest event of the day will take place at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea and Juventus competing for supremacy in Group H.
Chelsea and Juventus will compete for supremacy in their Champions League group in London on Thursday evening.
Chelsea has had a strong start to the season, losing only two games. One of those defeats has come against Juventus, but the Blues have shown little indication of slowing down under Thomas Tuchel's supervision. Their supremacy was most recently demonstrated in a 3-0 victory over Leicester City over the weekend.
The defending champions are just a point away from cementing their position in the knockout stages, having defeated the Old Lady in Turin when the clubs last played - before going on to seal their place in the last 16 with four victories from four games.
Chelsea will transfer their emphasis to extending their defense of the Champions League trophy they lifted for the second time last May after maintaining their three-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a straightforward win at Leicester City on Saturday.
Their solitary defeat so far came in a close-fought match at the Allianz Stadium in September, when Federico Chiesa's goal at the start of the second half clinched a 1-0 Juventus victory.
So far, the Blues have only dropped two points, with a home victory over Zenit and overwhelming victories over Malmo on the next two matchdays. Despite the fact that Thomas Tuchel's team only won by a single goal last time out in Sweden, they dominated this time and won both games by a total score of 5-0.
Tuchel makes sure they keep things tight at the back, with the capital club keeping six clean sheets in their previous eight games. Not only that, but in the 2021-22 season, they have yet to concede more than once in any game.
Should they clinch their position in the last 16 in the coming weeks, they will be one of the teams to avoid in the draw due to their defensive stability and a forbiddingly deep roster. With so many games to play between now and Christmas, their head coach will want to do so as soon as possible.
Juventus has a flawless record in Group H, having won both games against Zenit St Petersburg earlier this month, in stark contrast to their poor domestic play.
After winning their first three games without surrendering a goal, the Bianconeri were finally defeated 4-2 by the Russian champions in Turin, thanks to an own goal by Leonardo Bonucci. As a result, if Juventus escape defeat against Chelsea this week, they will be confirmed in first position, despite their improved fortunes in Serie A.
Max Allegri's side has lost to numerous mid-table opponents since his much-heralded return in the summer, including Sassuolo and Verona, but back-to-back wins either side of the international break have pushed them to seventh in the rankings, still well behind the Scudetto pace.
Juve ended a three-game losing streak in the league with a 1-0 victory over 10-man Fiorentina at home in early November, marking Allegri's 200th win as the club's head coach, and they followed that up with a 2-0 victory over Lazio in Rome, where stand-in captain Bonucci scored a penalty in each half to secure the points.
Juventus has an amazing record of 14 wins in their past 15 group games as they return to continental competition. As a result, they'll carry some well-earned confidence to England, where they've gone undefeated in five games since an infamous 4-1 Europa League loss to Chelsea's west London rivals Fulham in 2010.
Thomas Tuchel has been able to welcome back both Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner to training after missing both of his primary strikers due to injuries sustained while on Champions League duty.
Lukaku is unlikely to participate right now as he expects a gradual return to the first squad. Werner was an unused substitute against Leicester on Saturday and might start.
Mateo Kovacic, a multiple league winner, has been out since suffering a hamstring injury in training late last month, and winger Marcos Alonso has only recently returned from an ankle injury. The latter, though, may be included because he is contending for Ben Chilwell's left-back spot.
Scores Prediction
Chelsea 2-0 Juventus
Chelsea can avenge their humiliation in Italy earlier this season by interrupting Juve's unbeaten run and ensuring the race for first place in Group H goes down to the final matchday.
Though the visitors can be shaky against some of the more modest opponents they face, they rarely surrender many goals in major games and will be edged out at Stamford Bridge by the two goals thanks to their hosts' abundance of attacking weapons.
We showed Juve who’s boss😎😅
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You really did well and you deserve that win.
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