UEL 2022-23: Juventus vs Nantes: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

The Old lady has dropped down to the second tier, of the European club competition and they face The Yellow House.

Juventus will be hoping to salvage their much-maligned campaign, with injuries to key players throughout the season. A wave of off-field controversy, and failure to progress into the knockout round of the UEFA Champions League. They find themselves languishing in the 9th position in the table in Serie A, after a fifteen-point deduction to their current season in Serie A. They were found guilty of 'financial irregularities' and 'false accounting' in relation to past transfer dealings. Winning the Europa League would be on Massimiliano Allegri's mind, and motivating his players to do the same would be the major task ahead, having lost their last six European matches, starting off against their opponents from France, Nantes, here in the Europa League, Round of 32 stages.

Nantes, are on an unbeaten run of not losing their last seven away matches, however still find themselves, 13th in the league, courtesy of their focus on managing the load of their players and prioritising Europa League advancement to the knockout stages. Nantes have managed to win three of their last five league games and now face the challenge of European giants Juventus, after finishing runners-up in their Europa League group, five points behind German side Freiburg. Their only loss came against lowly Qarabag, away from home in September last year, a 3-0 loss to forget.

Kick-off: 

Friday, 17-02-2023, 1:15 am (IST), 16-02-2023 7:45 pm (GMT)

Juventus form (all competitions): W-W-W-L-D

Nantes form (all competitions): W-D-W-L-D

Players to watch out

Juventus: Dusan Vlahovic

The Serbian forward has been the standout performer in an underwhelming season for his club side, having to lead the Serie A golden boot race for most of last season in the Serie A, with 24 goals, only pipped by Ciro Immobile of Lazio who finished with 27. Although there has been an adjustment period for Vlahovic, with his club side in the transition, adding to it, he's been able to find the net eight times, and provide two assists in the league, a bit underwhelming, by his standards. He's assisted and scored, once each in the Champions League Group Stage, before Juve dropped out and down to the Europa League, and will surely look to target this competition to finally make a lasting impression on the Juventus faithful, starting against Nantes.

Nantes: Ludovic Blas

The French winger has been the dynamic leading force which led the Nantes side to an upset and unexpected Coupe De France victory last year and booked a direct spot in the Europa League group stage. He finished with 15 goal contributions last season and helped them finish ninth in the league last year. This season, Blas has been involved in 5 goal contributions (4goals and an assist), n the league, and also appeared in all six Europa League group matches, scoring two goals and registering three assists. West Ham and Lille were interested in his services last summer, and he'll be a player to keep an eye on against Juventus.

Team & Injury News

FC Nantes striker Ignatius Ganago will not play the first leg, with his absence down to personal reasons. Moses Simon(Thigh) and winger Merlin (Groin) will also miss out.

Juventus will be in action, albeit without the services of Paul Pogba and Arkadiusz Milik, who're dealing with long-term muscle injuries. Other key personnel missing for Juventus would be Miretti (ankle), Bonnucci (Muscle), and Kaio Jorge (tendon).

Head-to-Head Record

Matches: 2

Juventus: 1

Nantes: 1

Draw: 0

Predicted lineups

Juventus predicted lineup (3-5-2):

Szczesny; Danilo; Bremer; Alex Sandro; Cuadrado; Fagiolo; Locatelli; Rabiot; Kostic; Chiesa; Vlahovic.

Nantes predicted lineup (4-2-3-1)

Lafont; Centonze, Victor, Castelletto, Traore; Girotto, Sissoko; Guessand, Mollet, Blas; Mohamed

Match Prediction

Despite an underwhelming season, where the Old Lady lies in the 9th position in the Serie A league table, they have the European pedigree, experience and better players on the day to get a result in their favour, against an equally underwhelming Nantes side who overachieved last season, and somehow qualifying for the knockout stage of the Europa League, finishing runner-sup behind Freiburg, Group G. Juventus have also looked very resilient in defence this season, only second in the league, behind Napoli this season, and Max Allegri will hope to carry the same form, in Europe, to secure a clean sheet, and a first-leg home win.

Prediction: Juventus 2 - 0 Nantes

Telecast

India: Sony Ten Network, Sony Liv & JioTV

UK: BT Sport

USA: CBS Sports Network.

Nigeria: SuperSport 3