Monaco v Juventus Match Preview : Men Versus Boys


Monaco will be aiming to continue their journey in the Champions League when they host Juventus in their semi-final first-leg clash on Wednesday night.The Ligue 1 side, who currently sit at the summit of the French top-flight standings, defeated Borussia Dortmund 6-3 on aggregate to book their place in the last four of the Champions League for the first time since 2004. But they will now have to see off a Juventus team who beat Barcelona 3-0 on aggregate to have a chance of reaching the finals of Europe's elite competition. While the semi-final clash between Real Madrid and city rivals Atletico Madrid on Tuesday evening will not be shown for free, the match between Monaco and Juve will.
Team news
The hosts could be without Tiemoue Bakayoko due to a broken nose. The midfielder collided with team-mate Kamil Glik on the training ground. in contrast, there are no new injury concerns for Juventus. Sami Khedira will serve his one-game suspension, while Daniele Rugani has a knee injury.
Quotes
Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe: "Juventus are a great club. Everybody knows their history, the great players who played there, the great players who still play there. They're a great team, and they eliminated Barcelona who were also among the favourites. "They showed they have what it takes to win the competition. But we also have qualities and we'll do everything we can to get to the final."Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon: "Monaco love attacking. They have exceptional players and have scored an avalanche of goals, not only through Kylian Mbappé. They have Falcao and other players who can score goals. "I have total respect for Monaco. Whatever happens tomorrow the tie won’t be decided as Monaco are an unpredictable team and anything could happen."
Predicted lineups
Monaco: Subasic, Toure, Glik, Jemerson, Mendy, Moutinho, Fabinho, Bernardo Silva, Lemar, Falcao, Mbappe.
Juventus: Buffon, Dani Alves, Chiellini, Bonucci, Alex Sandro, Pjanic, Marchisio, Cuadrado, Dybala, Mandzukic, Higuain.

Published: 05/03/2017