After a run of eight matches without a win in all competitions, Juventus decided to part ways with Igor Tudor in the wake of their 1-0 defeat to Lazio on Matchday 8.
The change reaped immediate rewards, with the Old Lady beating Udinese 3-1 last Wednesday with Massimo Brambilla in caretaker charge.
Former Napoli and Italy coach Luciano Spalletti was then given the job on a permanent basis and he got off to a positive start, leading his team to a 2-1 win over Cremonese on Saturday.
Goals from Filip Kostić and Andrea Cambiaso put Juve into a two goal lead. Jamie Vardy pulled one back for the hosts after 83 minutes, but the Bianconeri held on for a much needed three points.
The next challenge for Spalletti is to get Juve’s Champions League campaign up and running.
Juve opened with draws against Dortmund (4-4) and Villarreal (2-2). In their most recent outing, they lost 1-0 away at Real Madrid.
Sporting are back-to-back winners of the Primeira Liga in Portugal.
However, this season they are having to make do without the services of Viktor Gyökeres who left for Arsenal in the summer and they also have a resurgent Porto to deal with domestically.
Rui Borges’ team are second in the table. They have 25 points from ten matches and are on a two-match winning streak.
They warmed up for Juve defeating Alverca 2-0 on Friday. Goals from Fotis Ioannidis and Pedro Gonçalves sealed a comfortable victory.
Sporting have also made a solid start to their Champions League campaign. They have six points from three matches.
The wins came at home against Kairat (4-1) and Marsille (2-1). Sandwiched between the victories was a 2-1 defeat away to Napoli on Matchday 2.
Juventus vs Sporting betting tips
The change at the top seems to have worked for Juve with the Old Lady winning two on the bounce since Igor Tudor was shown the door. Keeping that run going against a solid Sporting won’t be easy. Find out how Juve are likely to get on in our match tips below:
Value lies with the home team
Despite their recent struggles, Juventus have shown a lot of fight in their Champions League matches this season.
The Old Lady came from 4-2 down with two stoppage time goals to snatch a point on Matchday 1 and they were unlucky to only leave Villarreal with a point having led going into the final minute.
The 1-0 defeat at Real Madrid on Matchday 3 probably flattered the Italians. Real had 26 attempts at goal to Juve’s 11. But in fairness to the Old Lady, they were in terminal decline under Tudor at that point and Real are also one of the top teams in Europe.
Sporting have been competitive in Europe, but both their wins came at home. They may have only lost 2-1 at Napoli in their only away fixture, but the Portuguese never really looked like troubling the Serie A champions.
We have to go for Juve to get their first win. And the odds are competitive as well.
Front foot Juve should lead to goals
Luciano Spalletti has a way of playing that it’s probably fair to say flies in the face of that old Italian stereotype of defensive football. The former national team boss likes his teams to attack.
In his opening match he opted to stick with Dusan Vlahovic and Lois Openda up front. And although the duo have only scored once in the two matches they’ve started together since Tudor’s departure, Juve have picked up six points from the two outings.
We expect to see Spalletti encourage his team to play on the front foot. Arguably the biggest fault of his two predecessors at the Allianz Stadium was negativity that resulted in too many draws, so why would Spalletti want to follow suit?
Two of Juve’s three matches in Europe have covered over 2.5 goals. In fact, the two matches yielded a whopping 12 goals.
Only in the 1-0 defeat at Real was over 2.5 not covered. And with a combined 37 attempts at goal in that match, it probably should have been.
Over 2.5 goals have also been covered in all three of Sporting’s Champions League outings this season.
Back Vlahovic to get back on the scoresheet
Dusan Vlahovic has been in and out of favour at Juve this season. However, he looks in favour again now that Spalletti is in charge.
Vlahovic looks like a player that wants to be loved. In Spalletti, the Serb may just have found the ideal coach to show faith in him.
Furthermore, he has a solid scoring record in the Champions League, with eight goals and three assists in his 19 outings for Juve.
This season, he scored two and provided one assist in the 4-4 draw with Dortmund. Those are Vlahovic’s only contributions in Europe this term.
In his defence, he only got four minutes against Villarreal, but he did draw a blank in the 75 minutes he played against Real Madrid.
With a new manager to inspire him, back Vlahovic to score against Sporting.
