The Old Lady Is Ready To Party Again

This Europa League semi-final could not be more finely balanced after Benfica secured a 2-1 first leg victory on their own ground last week. Now they head to Turin to face a giant absolutely desperate to get back to winning major continental trophies.

If Juventus needed any further incentive, and they really don’t, the final will be staged on their own ground on May 14th. In terms of predicting the outcome, the difficulty here is that both teams are excellent domestically. Benfica are hunting a potential quadruple while ‘the Old Lady’ is on the cusp of a third consecutive Serie A title.

But while it may be hard to compare domination in different countries, what we can now assess is how the teams matched up in the first leg. The truth is, that despite the final score, the Italians looked the classier outfit for long periods even in Lisbon. Benfica scored twice, from their only two shots on target, while Juve nearly departed with the 1-1 draw which would have made them firmer favourites to progress.

Because of this I’ll back Antonio Conte’s boys to qualify, although it could be in dramatic fashion. Juventus are unbeaten at home this season (W21 D3) but have only kept one clean sheet in six European outings. With dangerous opponents likely to keep that trend going tonight, I’m backing Juventus to win 3-1 at best odds of 14/1 with WilliamHill.