Will Juve return to winning ways under Spalletti?

Europe’s soccer elite are ready to dance! On the fourth matchday of the Champions League, there are once again many interesting duels at the highest level on the program. This is also the case with our Juventus vs. Sporting Lisbon tip, where German bookmakers favor the Old Lady. 

Although the Old Lady has picked up four points less than the Portuguese in the first three Champions League games, they are considered the favorites in the upcoming home game. This is probably mainly due to the fact that the “Leões” have not yet won any of their four games against the Italian record champions and have never won an away game on Italian soil in the European Cup. Nevertheless, we are not signing up to a Juventus vs. Sporting Lisbon prediction of a home win without hesitation.

Juve has too often lacked punch and disappointed this season. It remains to be seen whether the early dismissal of Igor Tudor has changed anything. Especially in defense, the Old Lady is currently struggling to keep a clean sheet, which is why the Juventus vs. Sporting Lisbon odds for goals on both sides are particularly interesting for the upcoming match.

Juventus vs. Sporting AI prediction

Just like us, the AI expects goals from both sides in its Juventus vs. Sporting AI prediction. While the visitors have an xG value of 1.04, it calculates an xG value of 1.51 for the Italian record champions.

In addition, the Juventus vs. Sporting AI prediction shows that the bookmakers’ odds for a home win are set too low. The artificial intelligence calculates a whole four percentage points less probability of a home win.

Juventus – Statistics & current form

Igor Tudor took over as head coach of the Old Lady in March of this year. But even he was unable to restore Juventus Turin to its former strength. After eight games without a win, it was too much for the club’s management in Turin and the collaboration was terminated.

Luciano Spalletti, the former Italian national coach, took over at the Black and Whites. In his first game with his new employer, German-licensed betting providers are sending him into the race as the favorite in their Juventus vs. Sporting Lisbon odds.

Will Juve get their first win in the Champions League?

So there has been a lot going on at the Italian record champions in recent weeks, and Tudor’s dismissal had a liberating effect on the Juve stars. In their first game without the former Juve defender on the sidelines, Udinese were defeated under interim coach Massimo Brambilla. Spalletti, who had recently coached the Italian national team without much success after winning the championship with Napoli in the 2022/23 season, made his league debut with a narrow 2-1 win over newly promoted Cremonese.

But even under Spalletti, the defensive weaknesses do not seem to have been overcome. As in the previous game against Udinese, his debut once again saw the team concede a goal. Against the upcoming offensively strong opponent, we therefore expect at least one goal against in our Juventus vs. Sporting Lisbon prediction. 

The Old Lady once stood for a top-class defense with players such as Buffon, Chiellini, and Bonucci, which every forward line in Europe feared. However, Juventus Turin’s defense is currently far from that level. 

Only three of their nine league games so far have ended with a clean sheet, and they have not managed to do so at all in the Champions League. They conceded seven goals in the first three matchdays of the Champions League and are still without a win in the competition. It is quite possible that this will still be the case after Tuesday’s game.

Sporting Lisbon – Statistics & current form

Sporting Lisbon defended their Portuguese league title last season. And this season, the big three are once again at the top of Portugal’s top flight, with the rest of the league mostly standing no chance against them. And just as Sporting’s unfortunate opponents in the Primeira Liga have often fared, so too has Rui Borges’ team often fared in European competition in recent years.

Will Sporting Lisbon surprise Turin?

That’s why the bookies have given the “Leões” the underdog role in Turin. However, a bet on an unbeaten game for the visitors with the bonus credit from Bet365 is still interesting. So far, Borges’ team has performed well in the Champions League, celebrating two victories against Marseille and Kairat Almaty, both at home, however. In their only away game of this Champions League season, they suffered a narrow defeat against Juve’s league rivals Napoli.

As the Old Lady has not impressed us at all so far, we are by no means convinced that Juventus will win at home against Sporting Lisbon. As against Napoli, we expect the visitors from Portugal to keep the game open for a long time and to score at least once themselves in the course of the game. And we are not ruling out the possibility of the Portuguese champions coming away with something in Turin.

Juventus – Sporting Head-to-head record

The Old Lady is still unbeaten against Sporting Lisbon in all four previous matches. The two teams have already faced each other twice in the Champions League group stage in 2017. At that time, Juve won 2-1 at home and drew away in Portugal. However, the most recent two encounters took place in the Europa League quarterfinals two years ago.

The Italians also won at home in these matches and secured a draw in Lisbon. If history repeats itself and the Italian record champions triumph at home again next Tuesday, betting odds for Juventus vs. Sporting Lisbon will be around the two-way line at the bookies.

Juventus – Sporting Lisbon betting tip

At first glance, the bookies’ assessment for a Juventus vs. Sporting Lisbon betting tip seems justified. The Italians certainly have the better squad in terms of quality, and trips by the Portuguese champions to Bella Italia have rarely been successful in the past. In 19 away games in Italy, Sporting has suffered 14 defeats and five draws, with no wins to date.

In addition, Rui Borges’ team has won only one of its last 24 away games against teams from Europe’s top five leagues (1-4-19). Eintracht Frankfurt fans will remember this defeat in September 2022 painfully. On the other hand, Juventus have been disappointing across the board in the Champions League recently.

Since their 2-1 win against Eindhoven in February this year, the Italian record champions have been winless in this competition (0-2-2). And Sporting Lisbon has historically performed well in the Champions League. The Portuguese side has celebrated two victories in its last three games in Europe’s premier club competition. By comparison, Sporting Lisbon has only celebrated three victories (3-4-7) in its previous 14 games.

Reason enough for us to bet on an open game in our Juventus vs. Sporting Lisbon prediction. We expect at least one goal from each side at Juventus Stadium. Because as good as both teams’ offenses are, both Juventus and Sporting are vulnerable at the back and always prone to conceding goals.