Day: November 23, 2021

Chelsea will look for vengeance when they face Juventus in the Champions League today.

The Blues and the Italian giants will both qualify from this group, but this match gives the Blues a chance to compete for the top spot.

The Old Ladies won the reverse of this fixture in a very one-sided game and that Chelsea had the most possession.

Max Allegri’s men enters this match after a 2-0 win over Lazio in Rome and they know it would be another tough day for them.

But the very pragmatic tactician would be prepared to avoid defeat to the European champions again in this game.

Chelsea has also been in solid form in the league and have won every other Champions League game.

This match would be a major test of their credentials and they need to send a message to their rivals that they are serious about retaining their crown.

Romelu Lukaku is back from injury and could play a part in this game, but Juventus is likely to still rest Paulo Dybala who is touch-and-go in terms of his fitness level now.

Barcelona will look to start the Xavi Hernandez era in the Champions League with a win against Benfica in this game.

The returning midfielder knows he has a lot of work on his hands, but he would be confident he can turn his former side into a leading Spanish club again.

Benfica won the reverse of this fixture 3-0 in Portugal and that has set this one up nicely to be a game to look forward to.

Barca is above the Portuguese side by just two points and win in this match will confirm their participation in the knockout stages of the competition.

However, if they suffer yet another defeat, they would be out of the running and that is something Xavi would be working against in this match.

Benfica comes into this match on the back of two fine wins, but Barcelona struggled to beat Espanyol 1-0 at the weekend.

The Blaugranas would consider that some progress judging by where they are coming from, but their fans would want a more expansive win today.