Juventus will be looking to make it to the finals of the Champions League for the second time in three years when they welcome Monaco to the Juventus stadium for their second leg semi-final clash on Tuesday. The Serie A champions hold a two goals lead at the moment thanks to Gonzalo Higuain's brace in the first leg.
Juventus are the clear favourites to progress to the finals of the Champions League as no French team has ever beaten them on their own soil in European competition. Also the fact that they have not lost in their last 18 Champions League home games, winning 11 and drawing seven, is another cause for concern for the French club.
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Higuain took his goals tally to 32 in all competitions after he scored against Torino during the weekend and Giorgio Chiellini feels the Argentine is as good as any top striker out there at the moment and believes this current Juventus team are better equipped to go all the way this time.
"Higuain is a complete striker, surely among the best three nines in the world. I'd say the greatest difference between this Juventus and the one you saw in the final two years ago is inner belief," ESPN quoted Chiellini as saying.
"I don't think any of us really expected to go all the way to Berlin, but we grew into the competition as it went on. We showed maybe a little too much respect to Barcelona in the final and that showed in our performance."
"This time around we know how to manage the key moments and we have the confidence to go toe to toe with Europe's best in the knowledge that we have what it takes to beat them," he added.
Despite Juventus boasting such an incredible record at home in the Champions League, their manager Massimiliano Allegri feels the job is still not complete.
"Monaco will play an open and care-free match. We will have to be careful because they have great talent," Allegri said.
Juventus have no injuries or suspensions to deal with ahead of the match and they will be boosted by the return of Sami Khedira who missed the first leg through suspension.
As for Monaco, they might be without left-back Benjamin Mendy, who missed the first leg and Monaco's weekend win at Nancy.
Monaco have a really difficult task on their hands when they come up against Juventus and the fact that they have never won a game in Italy in seven attempts will make thing more difficult for them.
The last time a French club was in the finals of the Champions League was back in the 2004-05 season and it was Monaco who did that. They ended up losing to Jose Mourinho's Porto in that match and now they have to defeat a Juventus team who have kept six successive clean sheets in the competition.
Not a lot of people expect Monaco to produce a comeback against Juventus today but Leonardo Jardim's men have scored 12 goals across their last-16 and quarter-final ties so they could Juventus a run for their money. The Monaco boss said an early goal could be the catalyst for an upset and urged his players to defy expectations one more time.
"We have to stay confident, try to play our game and put on a good performance and if we score at the start of the game, maybe that could change things," Jardim said.
"I am very happy and proud of my players. Everyone would like to get to the final. They have shown the football world a lot. Nobody believed in July we would reach the group stage. Now we are at halfway and we want to continue with our dreams. We will make the most of this game and do everything to ensure that it is not our last," he added.
Where to watch
The Champions League second leg semi-final between Juventus and Monaco is set to start at 7:45 pm local time, 12:15 am IST and 2:45 pm EST.
TV and live streaming information
India: TV: TEN 2, TEN 1 HD. Live streaming: Sony Liv.
Italy: Premium Sport HD, Canale 5, Premium Play, RSI La 2
France: TV: beIN Sports 1. Live streaming: beIN Sports connect.
UK: TV: BT Sport 2. Live Streaming: Watch BT Sport.
USA: TV: Fox Sports 1. Live streaming: Fox Soccer 2 Go.
Middle East: TV: beIN Sports. Live streaming: beIN Sports connect.
