UEFA Champions League: Real Madrid vs Juventus - Betting Tips, Odds & Prediction

Real Madrid and Juventus - the sides that met in the 2017 Champions League final - lock horns again at the Bernabeu on Thursday morning. 

Los Blancos seem to have settled in well under the stewardship of Xabi Alonso, sitting second both in home and Europe. 

Juventus haven't had it quite as smooth. An unexpected loss to Como dropped them to seventh place domestically, while their Champions League form also tells a similar story. They haven’t lost yet, but have only two points to show from their first two games.

Our Real Madrid vs Juventus preview breaks down the best betting angles, complete with top odds from the best New Zealand betting websites.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid have won seven of the eight matches they have played in La Liga. Trouble is, in the only match they lost, Atletico Madrid destroyed them 5-0. Not many football expert tips predicted that result. 

Bouncing back from that kind of shock isn't easy, yet Real dispatched Villarreal to keep the pressure on league leaders Barcelona. They are only a point behind with a match in hand. 

Real’s Champions League campaign has started with two wins, although Marseille pushed them hard in the opening match. Facing Kazakhstani side FC Kairat in the second fixture turned out to be a far less taxing affair as they ran in five unanswered goals.

Team News: Kylian Mbappe had an ankle problem during France duty, but he should be fit to feature.

Predicted Lineup: Courtois; Valverde, Militao, Asencio, Carreras; Guler, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Mastantuono, Mbappe, Vinicius.

Juventus

Juventus finally ended their run of stalemates against Como, but it wasn’t exactly what their fans would have wanted. 

The Serie A giants played out five straight draws before facing the Lombardy outfit. Marc-Oliver Kempf stunned Igor Tudor’s side with a stunning volley in the fourth minute and Juve never recovered from that shock. 

They have shared the spoils with Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal in their previous two Champions League matches. Now, they head to the den of the record European champions in search of their first win - unsurprisingly, even new betting sites are not showing much optimism for them.

Team News: Juve will be without Bremer once more, with the defender not expected back until December.

Predicted Lineup: Bizot; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; McGinn, Kamara; Guessand, Buendia, Rogers; Malen.

• Juventus have won only once in their last five meetings with Real Madrid. 
• The last five Real Madrid vs Juventus matches have produced 14 goals. 
• Juventus won 3-1 in their last visit to Santiago Bernabeu (2018).

Finding the net has rarely been a problem for Mbappe since his rise at Monaco. He has kept up his sensational form at Real Madrid, and found the perfect partner in crime to terrorise opposition defences: Vinicius Jr. 

The duo have formed a near-telepathic connection in the attack. So far, they have scored 19 goals together in 10 outings. Alonso’s 4-3-3 suits both players perfectly. 

Juventus will likely stick to a 3-5-2, hoping to contain Madrid’s attacking threat with more personnel at the back. But the Dortmund match showed that this formation can leak goals against a dynamic press and Madrid can do that even better. 

Real Madrid should win this and keep a clean-sheet.

Real Madrid 2-0 Juventus @ $8.50

Real Madrid hold all the cards heading into this clash: better head-to-head record, form, home advantage, and a lethal attack. Juventus will also bring a depleted defence to the Spanish capital, with Bremer and Juan Cabal staying in Turin. Other than the Dortmund match, Juventus did not seem capable of scoring a lot of goals. 

We don’t see Juve breaching the Madrid backline on Thursday. It might be difficult, but Madrid should eventually get through the Juve defence and pick up a 2-0 win, returning $8.50 at 20Bet.