Henry Roldán
For the first time since 1996, Juventus vs Nantes will meet for the first leg of the Europa League playoffs on Thursday.
The Italian team finished third in Group H in the Champions League after failing to beat PSG and Benfica. Meanwhile, the French club finished second in Group G in the Europa League, behind only Freiburg. As your trusted source for sports betting, JefeBet’s got you covered with information on all your favorite sports and soccer leagues from around the world, and that includes the highly-anticipated Juventus vs Nantes clash. We’ve scoured the data to bring you the best odds and our expert prediction, so you can increase your chances of winning big.
Predictions, Picks, and Betting Odds for Juventus vs Nantes Europa League Playoffs First Leg on February 16, 2023
- Where: Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy
- When: Thursday, February 16, 2023, 3:00 PM E.T.
- Moneyline: Juventus (-286) / Draw (+400) / Nantes (+850).
- Asian Handicap: Juventus (-1.25, -124) / Nantes (+1.25, +104).
- Over/Under (2.5): Over (-117) / Under (-106).
- Both teams score: Yes (+125) / No (-165).
All odds shown are courtesy of Unibet.
Betting on Juventus
Juventus has suffered a major setback with a 15-point drop in Serie A, which leaves them out of European competitions for the next year. With this in mind, the team coached by Massimiliano Allegri is now focused on fighting for the Europa League.
Despite their unlucky performance in the Champions League, where they barely scraped through the competition with only three points (and being almost eliminated by Maccabi Haifa) Juventus remains the overwhelming favorite to advance through this phase.
However, their 12 goals conceded in six games is a cause for concern, particularly as they are the lowest-scoring team in Serie A. Injuries have plagued the team throughout the season, but they managed to keep a clean sheet in their two recent wins in the Italian league.
While the Vecchia Signora have been dominant at home, losing just one game in 12 and conceding only eight goals, they were defeated by both Benfica and PSG with a score of 1-2 in the Champions League. Allegri will be without striker Arkadiusz Milik and midfielders Daouda Peeters and Fabio Miretti, while Leonardo Bonucci and Kaio Jorge remain serious doubts.
Probable Juventus lineup (3-4-3): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Bremer, Alex Sandro; Mattia De Sciglio, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Filip Kostic; Federico Chiesa, Angel Di Maria, Dusan Vlahovic.
Betting on FC Nantes
After a troubled start to the season, Nantes have found a new lease of life in the French league and take on this important match away from the relegation zone. The French representative has only one defeat in its last nine matches in the local championship, and has not managed to climb further up the table because four of those matches ended in a draw.
In the Europa League, Nantes sealed their qualification on the final matchday with a win away to Olympiacos, a victory that took them to nine points and moved them above Qarabag, who drew with Freiburg to stay on eight points.
However, the numbers for the French are not at all flattering. In the group stage, they scored only six goals and conceded a total of 11, five of them away from home.
The team coached by Antoine Kombouaré has not changed much in Ligue 1 either, with just 11 points in 12 away games. However, eight of them have come in the last four games, with two wins and two draws.
For this game, Nantes will be without strikers Ignatius Ganago and Moses Simon, as well as defender Quentin Merlin.
Probable lineup (4-2-3-1): Alban Lafont; Andrei Girotto, Jaouen Hadjam, Jean-Charles Castelletto, Fabien Centonze; Samuel Moutoussamy, Pedro Chirivella; Ignatius Ganago, Florent Mollet, Loduvic Blas; Andy Delort.
JefeBet Prediction
Juventus’ season has been very complicated due to injuries, unstable performances and extra sporting problems. However, that doesn’t mean that they are not the overwhelming favorites for this clash.
Had it not been for the drop in points, Allegri’s side would be fighting for Champions League places in Serie A thanks to an impeccable performance at home and the best defense in the Italian championship.
Juve have much more experience in these matters than their opponents, who, although they are enjoying a good moment in the local championship, having conceded only four goals in their last nine matches, do not seem to have the offensive weapons to beat the Italian defense.
With just 24 goals, Nantes equals the fourth lowest number of goals scored in Ligue 1, while Juventus are the sixth-highest scoring side in their championship with 34.
Prediction: Only one team scores (JUV 2 – NAN 0).
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