REUTERS
Juventus is off to one of the most bizarre starts to a soccer season that you’ll ever see.
The Old Lady has two wins and two draws from its first four matches, but things get funky when you look at the goal difference. Juve has scored six goals and allowed none, meaning they’ve played two nil-nil draws already, and have seen a total of 5.3 expected goals (xGF + xGA) in their four matches.
Thiago Motta’s side is taking low-event to a whole new level.
We’ll see if Juventus will bring this identity into their Champions League opener against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.
Juventus vs. PSV odds
| Team | Moneyline | Draw | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juventus | -125 | +290 | o2.5 (-125) |
| PSV | +333 | +290 | u2.5 (+100) |
Juventus vs. PSV prediction
Adding even more intrigue to Juve’s funky start to the season is the fact that they were shot of a cannon in their first two matches.
The Old Lady stomped Como, 3-0, in their opener and then overwhelmed Hellas Veronas by the same scoreline a week later.
But things came to a screeching halt against Roma in a drab nil-nil draw and it didn’t get any more exciting against Empoli on Saturday.
Juventus created just 1.4 expected goals in their last two contests, but they conceded just 0.8, so they’re certainly doing a lot right in their own half.
Eindhoven, meanwhile, are off to a very different start in the Eredivisie. Although it is a much weaker league compared to Serie A, winning your first five matches by an aggregate scoreline of 20-3 is downright impressive.
Like a lot of the clubs that succeed in the Netherlands, Eindhoven want to introduce pace and chaos to the game and keep things moving at all times. That is not how Juve want their matches to play out.
This contrast of styles should set up for a really interesting contest.
Juve’s defensive work under Thiago Motta could turn it into a contender in the Champions League, but it’s hard to back them with their offense sputtering at the moment.
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As for Eindhoven, they check plenty of boxes you look for in a live underdog in the Champions League, but the quality of competition they’ve faced in the Eredivisie does leave a lot to be desired.
Throw in the fact that this kind of stylistic matchup — where two very different philosophies meet — often begins with a feeling-out process and you’ve got yourself all the makings for a very ugly first half of football.
Pick: 1H under 0.5 goals (+210, DraftKings)
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