06 December 2021, 16:04 | 28 August 2021, 15:29
The UEFA Champions League Group H fixture, Juventus F.C. vs. Malmö FF, kicks off at 18:45 (GMT+1) on Wednesday, December 8, at Juventus Stadium. Referee Irfan Peljto (BIH) has been selected as the first official for this fixture.
Preview Juventus Champions League, Dec 8, 2021
Preview Juventus continued their slow but steady progress in Serie A and moved into the top-five over the weekend, following the 2-0 win over Andriy Shevchenko’s bottom-placed Genoa. Cuadrado (9’) hit the back of the net directly from a corner kick before Dybala (82’) wrapped up the three points with eight minutes left on the clock. On UCL Matchday 5, Juventus suffered their worst defeat of the campaign, succumbing to a 4-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. In second place, with a qualification for the next round already in the bag, Juventus are hunting for a first-place finish at the expense of the Blues. Both clubs have 12 points each, from 4W, 0D, and 1L, and Massimiliano Allegri aims for a win while hoping the Premier League side fails to win or picks up a draw in the Group-H game against Zenit on Wednesday. The weekend's win leaves the Old Lady with back-to-back victories, WLLWW, across all competitions. Allegri abandoned the 4—4—2 formation after the haul of four against Chelsea, which was complemented by another 1-0 defeat to Atalanta, for a much more attacking-minded 4—2—3—1. Leaving Morata at the top of the new shape, the Old Lady had 27 shots in the game against Genoa, with 12 of them on target. Dejan Kulusevski and Dybala are both expected to be part of the trio supporting either Morata or Moise Kean in attack on Wednesday in the same design. If booked, Cuadrado will miss the next match.
Preview Malmö FF Champions League, Dec 8, 2021
Preview Eliminated and yet to win a game, Malmö FF will be drawing the curtains on their UEFA Champions League campaign on Wednesday when they make their appearance against the Old Lady. In 4th place, with 1 point from 0W, 1D, and 4L, Malmö are rooted to the bottom of the table, three points behind 3rd-placed FC Zenith. A huge negative goal difference of -12 leaves the club in 4th place. The Swedish outfit, were confirmed to finish bottom of the group following the 1-1 draw with FC Zenit on UCL Matchday 5. Malmö took the lead through a 28th-minute strike from Søren Rieks, but a late penalty in stoppage time from Yaroslav Rakitskyi (90’+2 P.) saw the club denied a win. A win here appears to be a remote possibility, while Jon Dahl Tomasson is expected to make several changes to the starting line-up for this dead-rubber game against Juventus. A 5—4—1 formation could be seen with Antonio Čolak at the top of the design. If booked, Brorsson, Larsson, and Nielsen will miss the next match.