Sports Blog 05/06/2015: UEFA Champions League Final Preview – Juventus vs Barcelona, Saturday 6th June 2015

The end of the European footballing season is nigh, and it should be one hell of a finale as Juventus take on Barcelona in the Olympiastadion in Berlin, at 7.45pm on ITV and Sky Sports 1.

Barcelona will be going into this final feeling that it is theirs to lose. Odds on favourites at 1/3, and at a Champions League Index spread of 92.75-94.25, the Catalan side have emphatically answered the doubts that surrounded the team at Christmas. They have won 30 games since the New Year, sweeping to victory in La Liga and Copa del Rey, where they beat Athetlic Bilbao 3-1 last Saturday. This leaves them chasing a treble, a far cry from the position many put them in over a tense holiday season.



The main reason behind this rejuvenation (if you accept that the team were troubled at Christmas, which in hindsight looks slightly exaggerated) is the coalescing of Messi, Neymar and Suarez into one of, if not the, most formidable front three of all time. The Argentine is on 58 goals (and 26 assists), whilst Neymar is on 38; add into this the 24 got by Suarez, and Barcelona’s front three scored a staggering 120 goals between them in all competitions.

On top of all this, Messi is currently joint top scorer in the Champions League this season with his Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo, both on 10 goals. He is likely to pass the Portuguese star on Saturday evening, and is at a Super Mega Player Goal Minutes spread of 52-60, and fixed odds of 14/5 to score first. He is joined by Neymar, at a Super Mega PGM spread of 29-35 and fixed odds of 17/4, and Suarez, at a Super Mega PGM of 28-34 and fixed odds of 9/2.



However, the focus on Barcelona ahead of the final does a massive disservice to Juventus, who have had a similarly successful, if not as heady, 2014/15 season. At a Champions League Index of 80.75-82.25 and fixed odds of 12/5 to win the final, Juve are also chasing their own treble. Whilst Barcelona may have won La Liga by 2 points over Real Madrid (and 16 points over 3rd place Atletico Madrid), Juventus took Serie A with an astonishing 17 points to spare over 2nd place Roma. Add to this a 2-1 extra time victory over Lazio in the Coppa Italia, and the Turin team are neck and neck with Barca for the latest UEFA treble, last seen in 2012/13 when Bayern Munich took the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Champions League.

Impressively Juventus have only conceded 7 goals in 12 European games this season. However, frustratingly for Juve they will be without key defender Girgio Chiellini who is side-lined due to a calf injury. Not only is this a blow to Juve’s chances, but it denies Chiellini the opportunity to meet Luis Suarez once again after the Uruguayan bit the Italian defender at the 2014 World Cup.



For all their defensive kudos, Juventus aren’t anything to sniff at upfront either. Whilst they don’t have the sheer force of Barcelona’s front three, few teams do, and with Carlos Tevez on 29 goals this season, and 7 in the Champions League, Juventus will be confident in their goal scoring ability, something they proved with a 3-2 victory over Real Madrid and a 5-1 win over Borussia Dortmund. This leaves Tevez at a Super Mega PGM spread of 19-23 and fixed odds of 7/1, alongside Alvaro Morata at a Super Mega PGM spread of 12-16 and Fernando Llorente at a Super Mega PGM spread of 11-15.

Yet for all Juventus’ success this season, Barcelona currently look like they are playing a different game to everyone else. The strength of their front three alone is phenomenal, and whilst Juventus have the ability to close out the best of teams, it is hard to look past the Catalonian conquerors, who have a comfortable advantage at a Barcelona/Juventus Goal Supremacy sports spread betting quote of 0.9-1.1 with a Total Goals spread of 2.6-2.8.