Nothing to play for either side in Turin on Thursday in the Europa League but still the prices look wrong and I want to be with Manchester City.
Having failed to win a single game in Group A, drawing all five to date, former European powerhouses Juventus have exited with a whimper and I can’t imagine motivation will be too great for the men in black and white. Manchester City arrive top of the standings and Roberto Mancini’s men have already qualified along with Lech Poznan with ease.
Much of the build up to his final fixture has been dominated by the talk of Carlos Tevez’s seemingly inevitable departure from Eastlands, possibly in January, but the Premier League side have more than enough quality to cope without the Argentine and should cope with the Italian giants regardless of the XI Mancini picks.
Glancing at City’s Europa League squad, the Italian boss cannot fail but to field a side packed full of internationals and, with plenty of competition for a starting place in the blue half of Manchester, the visitors will be looking to impress.
These two shared the spoils on Matchday 1, Adam Johnson cancelling out an early Vincenzo Iaquinta strike, but it was all to play for back then and quite how seriously home boss Luigi Del Neri takes the upcoming clash is open to debate. Juve are chasing Serie A leaders AC Milan in the title race and face a tricky trip to Chievo this weekend.
With home advantage it is understandable that the three-time European Cup winners are favoured by the firms but Juventus are as short as 2.30 with Unibet and that looks quite a bit shorter than their true chance reflects.
Expecting players of the quality of Shay Given, James Milner and Emmanuel Adebayor to deputise, City will more than match their opponents in every department and, in front what is expected to be a sparse crowd at the Stadio Olimpico, the visitors can secure at least a point to advance in style.
Juventus have won just four of their previous 10 home matches in all competitions while City have found the net 20 times in their last 10 games away from Eastlands. An away win certainly wouldn’t surprise.
3pts Lay Juventus (vs. Man City) @ 2.60 (Betfair)