Juventus vs NEC Nijmegen: The Bianconeri Cannot Afford Complacency on European Duty
SportSignals Match Desk · Football analysis desk ·
But here is the thing. Europe has a habit of punishing teams who treat matches like foregone conclusions. I have seen it happen too many times. You switch off. You rotate. You play at 70 percent. Then you are looking at a draw or worse, and the questions start flying.
What Juventus Must Do
The basics. That is all I ask. Compete for 90 minutes. Defend your box. Win your duels. Take your chances when they come. Juventus at the Allianz Stadium, in European competition, should be doing all of that without being told.
NEC Nijmegen: Do Not Write Them Off Entirely
The thing is, NEC arrive in Turin carrying a significant injury burden. Seven players are listed as out, including two with major injuries and one who has been sidelined since July last year on a long-term basis. That is a squad stretched thin. You cannot replace the experience of missing players in a game of this magnitude by just throwing someone else in. Depth and quality matter, and right now NEC's depth is being tested seriously.
That said, I will not stand here and pretend NEC have nothing to offer. They will be organised. They will be compact. Any Eredivisie side that has navigated its way to the Europa League group stage has shown it can be disciplined and hard to break down on bad nights. Juventus will need to be patient and precise. Bash away at a low block for 60 minutes and you start making mistakes. That is when the sucker punch comes.
The BTTS Market
I do not need a model to tell me that a depleted NEC side travelling to Turin on a Thursday night in September is unlikely to find the net. What I need is Juventus to defend properly. Concentrate. Mark their runners. Do not switch off from set pieces. These are basics. They are not complicated. They should be automatic for a squad of this calibre.
My Reading of This Match
Juventus win. That much I am confident about. The real question is the manner of it. A comfortable, controlled home win with a clean sheet is what a club with Juventus's standards should be delivering in a game like this.
The injury list on the NEC side compounds an already difficult trip. Seven absentees, including major long-term problems, means NEC's manager is picking from a shortened squad in a hostile stadium. That erodes your options and your confidence going in. You cannot prepare a full tactical gameplan when you are missing key components of your side.
For Juventus, there are no excuses on offer. Your squad is at home. You have the backing of the Allianz Stadium. You are massive favourites. Perform accordingly. Anything less than a win is unacceptable. A draw would be embarrassing. A defeat would be a scandal.
That is all this needs to be.