15 March 2018
After a rollercoaster win over Tottenham in the round of 16, Juventus are through to the Champions League quarter-finals for the fourth time in six seasons.
Before Friday’s draw in Nyon, take a look at who the Bianconeri could match up against next:
BARCELONA
Barcelona booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals for a record-extending 11th season in a row after defeating Chelsea 3-0 on Wednesday night and 4-1 on aggregate.
Lionel Messi scored three times over the course of the tie to bring up a century of goals in Europe’s premier competition. Down the other end of the field, meanwhile, the Blaugrana have conceded just twice for the best defensive record in this UCL campaign.
Juventus and Barcelona have been familiar opponents in recent seasons. Since the Catalans came out on top in the 2015 final in Berlin, the Bianconeri eliminated them in comprehensive fashion in last year’s quarter-final, before the two teams matched up again in this season’s group stage with Barça winning the home leg and honours even in Turin.
BAYERN MUNICH
Bayern Munich reached the quarter-finals for a seventh year in a row after brushing aside Besiktas 8-1 on aggregate.
The decorated German club are no strangers to Juventus with the two teams crossing paths in five previous Champions League campaigns. The Bianconeri recorded three group-stage wins over Bayern between 2004 and 2005.
However, the Bundesliga giants have enjoyed the better of recent meetings, coming out on top in the 2013 quarter-finals – en route to winning the competition – and in the round of 16 two years ago.
Bayern are on course for their sixth straight German Bundesliga title, as they currently sit 20 points clear of second-placed Schalke. Robert Lewandowski is enjoying enother prolific season in Bavaria and took his tally for the club to 100 goals in just 120 appearances following a hat-trick against Hamburg.
LIVERPOOL
Liverpool made light work of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2009 after beating Porto 5-0 in the round of 16.
The Reds have scored the most goals in this year’s competition (28) with Roberto Firmino (7), Sadio Mané (6) and Mohamed Salah (6) all filling their boots. Meanwhile, midfielder James Milner tops the UCL charts for assists (7).
Jurgen Klopp’s men are also going strong in the Premier League at present and currently sit third in the standings behind the two Manchester clubs.
Juventus have faced Liverpool six times in European competition with the most recent match-up coming in the 2005 UCL quarter-finals, which Liverpool won en route to lifting the title.
Massimiliano Allegri and managerial counterpart Klopp last met when the Bianconeri knocked out Borussia Dortmund in the 2015 round of 16.
MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City sealed their spot in the quarter-finals by virtue of a 5-2 aggregate win over Basel. Prior to that round of 16 tie, City had won five out of their six group-stage games, and they have been just as impressive on the domestic front, opening up a 16-point lead at the top of the Premier League and securing the English League Cup earlier this month.
Pep Guardiola’s men are joint-top with Barcelona in terms of pass completion (90%) and possession (62%) in the current Champions League campaign, with Kevin De Bruyne their key creative force with four assists. Meanwhile, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling have helped themselves to four goals apiece.
Juve did the double over City in the 2015/16 UCL group stage, as Mario Mandzukic and Alvaro Morata struck in a gripping comeback win at the Etihad Stadium before Mandzukic decided the return match in a 1-0 victory in Turin.
REAL MADRID
Real Madrid saw off PSG in style to book their place in the final eight. Their 5-2 aggregate win over the Parisians paved the way to an eighth straight quarter-final and they have won the competition in three of the last four seasons.
In Cristiano Ronaldo, they boast the top scorer both in this year’s Champions League campaign (12 goals) and in the history of the competition (117).
While Real have beaten Juve in two UCL finals (1998 and 2017), the Bianconeri have overcome the Spaniards in every other knockout tie: the 1996 quarter-finals (2-1 on aggregate), 2003 semi-finals (4-3), 2005 last 16 (2-1) and 2015 semi-finals (3-2).
Former Juventus midfielder Zinedine Zidane has led Los Blancos to an impressive haul of eight trophies in little over two years at the helm.
ROMA
Regular opponents in Serie A, Juventus and Roma have never met before in European competition, but the Giallorossi’s passage to the final eight has raised the possibility of an intriguing all-Italian clash in the capital and Turin.
Roma are through to their first Champions League quarter-finals in a decade after overcoming Shakhtar Donetsk on away goals with Edin Dzeko striking at the Stadio Olimpico for a 2-2 aggregate result.
The Bosnian forward has played a big part in the team’s UCL campaign to date, scoring four and providing three assists. Another big factor to the side’s success has been keeping clean sheets in all four of their home matches, thus preventing the opposition from striking a lucrative away goal.
SEVILLA
Sevilla created history by reaching their first ever Champions League quarter-final by beating Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford and also on aggregate. Wissam Ben Yedder struck both goals on the night to take his tally to eight and become the second-highest scorer of this UCL campaign behind only Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Andalusians’ style of play this season has been characterised by keeping control of the ball and they rank third in terms of possession (59%) while attacking midfielder Ever Banega has completed more passes (711) than anyone in this year’s competition.
Juventus and Sevilla have crossed paths in each of the last two Champions League campaigns. In the 2015/16 group stage, goals by Alvaro Morata and Simone Zaza wrapped up a win in Turin, before Fernando Llorente sealed victory for the Spaniards in the return match.
At the same stage of the following season, the two teams played out a goalless draw at Allianz Stadium, while strikes by Claudio Marchisio, Leonardo Bonucci and Mario Mandzukic completed a great comeback win for the Bianconeri in Andalusia, a result which ultimately enabled Juve to qualify as group winners that year.
