Juventus managed Max Allegri is hoping that his side avoid Real Madrid and their La Liga rivals Barcelona during the quarter-final stage of the Champions League. The Bianconeri progressed into the last eight of the elite competition after they picked up a hard-earned 4-3 aggregate win over Tottenham Hotspur, which included a 2-1 triumph at the Wembley Stadium.
The Turin giants have followed it with a 2-0 home win over Udinese, which took them to the top of the Serie A, and Allegri is now hoping for some good news during Friday’s Champions League draw at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. He said: “I hope to avoid both Barcelona and Real Madrid,” said Allegri after a 2-0 home win against Udinese on Sunday sent Juve top of Serie A. I think Madrid are the favourites to win the competition. They’re focusing solely on the Champions League and there’s nobody else that deals with games in this competition like they do.”
Juventus have reached the finals of the Champions League in two of the last three seasons, but they have been done on each occasion by a Spanish heavyweight. Barcelona outclassed them by a 3-1 scoreline in 2015, and the result only turned out to be worse last term, where they succumbed to a bitter 4-1 loss to Real Madrid, who became the first win in the modern era to retain the title.
Los Blancos are already out of contention for the La Liga and Copa del Rey this term, and their chances of winning a record third-straight Champions League title remains a distinct possibility after they ruffled aside a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side by a 5-2 aggregate in the round of 16. The French giants were largely hampered by the absence of Neymar, who suffered a foot injury just days before the second-leg at Parc des Princes.
