Juventus vs Nantes Prediction & Betting Tips - Europa League

Prediction published on 14/02/2023, 14:38  by Sridhar in Europa League Predictions

Italian giants Juventus play their first match in the Europa League since the 2013/14 campaign when they host Ligue 1 side Nantes in the knockout play-offs. This two-legged tie will see the first-leg being played at the Juventus Stadium on Thursday. Juventus are playing in this competition after being knocked out of the Champions League, when they finished third in their group behind Benfica and PSG. They could win only one match and lost the remaining five including three in a row. With the club being given a 15-point penalty for financial irregularities, the Old Lady find themselves out of European qualification spots. That could mean more emphasis on winning this competition to qualify for next year’s Champions League as manager Massimiliano Allegri looks to salvage their season. With three wins in a row in all competitions and only two losses across their last 12 competitive matches, Juventus are slowly picking up form to make a compelling case for progression in the Europa League.

Nantes have already made history having qualified for their first major European knockout stages in more than two decades. The French side qualified second behind Freiburg in Group G of the Europa League despite scoring only six goals, which was the second-lowest among all teams to have finished second in the competition this season. After a 1-0 win over Lorient in Ligue 1 last weekend, the visitors have added a bit of cushion from the bottom-four allaying fears of relegation. Europa League will be a good distraction for the team, who have won their last three and lost just once over their last 12 matches in all competitions. Even their Europa League campaign saw them finish with back-to-back wins, but repeating the feat against Juventus could be a bit too hard.