Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for tonight's
Champions League showdown between
Juventus and
Manchester United at the Allianz Stadium!
These are two of the giants of European football, but there was a noticeable gulf between the two sides at Old Trafford a fortnight ago, despite Juve only winning by a goal to nil. Tonight's hosts are on the brink of qualifying with two games to spare, whereas Man Utd could really do with a shock win in Turin.
Let's start with a look at the team news...
JUVENTUS STARTING XI: Szczesny; De Sciglio, Chiellini, Bonucci,
Alex Sandro; Khedira, Pjanic, Bentancur; Dybala, Cuadrado, Ronaldo
JUVENTUS SUBS: Benatia, Matuidi, Barzagli, Mandzukic, Cancelo, Perin, Rugani
MAN UTD STARTING XI: De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Pogba; Lingard, Sanchez, Martial
MAN UTD SUBS: Bailly, Mata, Rashford, Fred, Romero, Fellaini, Darmian
What can we make of those two sides, then?
Well, we'll start with the visitors, whose headline news in the buildup to the match was that Romelu Lukaku was not included in the squad due to an injury which could also rule him out of Sunday's Manchester derby.
As expected, Alexis Sanchez leads the line in his absence - as he did against Bournemouth at the weekend - and the Chilean will be making his 50th Champions League appearance tonight.
Marcus Rashford may feel hard done by not to get the nod after coming off the bench to score the late winner against Bournemouth, but Mourinho instead welcomes Jesse Lingard into his starting lineup tonight as
Juan Mata drops to the bench.
Ander Herrera also had an impact off the bench at the weekend and he is rewarded with a start tonight, replacing Fred in the midfield trio alongside Matic and Pogba.
Herrera and Lingard are the only two changes from the weekend, which means that the in-form Anthony Martial - who has been linked with a move to Juventus next summer - continues up front.
The winger has scored five goals in his last four league games for United and was also on the scoresheet during the victory over Young Boys on matchday one, but he barely got a sniff during the reverse fixture at Old Trafford two weeks ago.
None of this United team will be strangers to Juve, of course, but there is one particularly familiar face as Paul Pogba makes his first return to Turin since leaving the club for United in 2016.
Pogba enjoyed four successful years as a Juventus player, scoring 28 goals in 124 Serie A appearances for the club and helping them to win the title in each of his seasons there. The World Cup winner also featured in the 2015 Champions League final for the Old Lady.
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Pogba will not be coming up against his fellow World Cup-winning midfielder Blaise Matuidi tonight - at least not from the start after the Juventus man is only deemed fit enough for the bench in this match, having picked up a hip injury at the weekend.
Another World Cup winner takes his place to emphasise the strength in depth available to Juventus, though, with Sami Khedira coming into the starting lineup for his first appearance since matchday one.
Douglas Costa also picked up an injury at the weekend and is replaced by Juan Cuadrado for this match - one of four changes from the win over Cagliari along with Chiellini, Sandro and Khedira.
Benatia and Cancelo are the other two players to drop out, with De Sciglio switching from left-back to right-back for tonight's match. There is also a place on the bench for Mario Mandzukic, who picked up an ankle injury during the buildup to the reverse fixture but has recovered in time to make the matchday squad for this one.
Only two Juventus players have scored in the Champions League so far this season, with Miralem Pjanic netting twice from the spot against Valencia and Paulo Dybala scoring all four of their goals since then.
The Argentine scored a hat-trick against Young Boys on matchday two before getting the only goal of the game at Old Trafford last month, so he is one player United will need to keep a very close eye on tonight.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a very noticeable absentee from that list of Champions League goalscorers, and remarkably it is now five games without a goal in this competition for it's leading all-time scorer - stretching back to his 90th minute penalty against Juventus for Real Madrid in April.
Since then, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has gone 389 minutes and 15 shots without a goal, although he is still in fine form domestically with seven goals and five assists in his last eight Serie A outings.
Tonight will be a particularly special occasion for him considering his United connections, having spent six years at the club and helped them to the 2008 Champions League title in addition to three Premier League crowns, the FA Cup and two League Cups. In all, Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 appearances for United.
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Ronaldo may be yet to score in this season's competition, but he is arguably the greatest Champions League player of all time having smashed all scoring records and lifted the trophy five times - including four in the last five years.
The striker's arrival from Real Madrid in the summer was a major coup for Juventus and will surely only help them end their wait for success in this tournament - a drought which stretches back to 1996. Juve have been in five finals since then, but have lost them all.
Massimiliano Allegri's side are right up there amongst the favourites this season, though, and it is easy to see why given their form in the competition so far.
The Bianconeri have made light work of a group which also includes United and Valencia to sit top of the pile, already five points clear of their closest challengers - although that gap could be cut before kickoff with Valencia currently beating Young Boys 3-1.
The result at the Mestalla will not change Juve's objective tonight, though; just a point is needed for them to seal their place in the last 16 with two games to spare, and a victory tonight would see them clinch top spot.
A fifth successive year in the last 16 looks inevitable, then, and Juve are also the only team in the entire group stages yet to have conceded a goal. Borussia Dortmund, to their credit, also kept clean sheets in each of their first three group games, but they conceded twice against Atletico Madrid last night to leave Juve as the only unbreached backline.
Arguably Juventus's biggest test so far came on matchday one when they saw Ronaldo sent off after less than half an hour away to Valencia, but they proved their credentials by still managing to pull off a hugely impressive 2-0 away win.
The following two games have been easier, with Dybala's hat-trick downing Young Boys before they outclassed United at Old Trafford two weeks ago, running out much more comfortable victors than the 1-0 scoreline suggests.
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Juve have won 13 of their 14 matches across all competitions this season for their best-ever start to a campaign, although the only blemish on their copybook so far did come at home - a 1-1 draw with Genoa last month.
Indeed, the only two matches Juventus have lost in their last 50 outings across all competitions have both come at home too - against Napoli and Real Madrid in April - so perhaps there is a glimmer of hope for United to get a better result here than they managed at Old Trafford.
Of course, Juventus still boast a ludicrously good record in front of their own fans, and in this particular stadium they have been beaten just twice in 34 European outings. On both of those occasions - Bayern Munich in 2013 and Real Madrid in last season's quarter-final - their conquerors went on to lift the trophy that season.
In terms of group games, Juventus have lost only one of their last 35 in front of their own fans - a run which stretches back to Manchester United's last visit here in February 2003, during the second group stage that season.
It is a formidable record, then, and manager
Massimiliano Allegri can also boast his own fine personal record having lost just one of his last 26 home Champions League games as a manager.
Allegri is a man used to winning, too. He has maintained and even improved upon the winning team he took over, taking their run of league titles to an unprecedented seven in a row, and adding the Coppa Italia crown in each of the last four seasons too.
Juve are already six points clear at the top of Serie A this season, but their challenge now is to replicate that domestic form on the European stage.
While juve will have one eye on lifting this trophy on June 1, for now Manchester United will be focused on simply trying to get out of Group H - a defeat tonight would make that a lot harder.
The Red Devils look likely to kick this game off having dropped down to third in the standings courtesy of Valencia's impending win over 10-man Young Boys, and defeat in Turin would leave them a point behind the Spaniards with only two games remaining - not to mention eight off Juve.
Should results go as expected then United would likely regain second place on matchday five when they are at home to Young Boys and Valencia are away to Juventus, but it would still be all to play for in the final group game when Valencia host United at the Mestalla.
Mourinho will be desperate to avoid that showdown in Spain, but it would be a fairly major shock if they were to get anything out of this game considering how easily they were outclassed in the reverse fixture.
United did actually come close to producing a smash-and-grab draw at Old Trafford when Paul Pogba hit the post, but even
Jose Mourinho admitted after the game that Juve were a class apart from his side, despite only winning 1-0.
It made for another lacklustre European display from the Red Devils following their goalless draw with Valencia on matchday two, meaning that their solitary victory - and goals - of the group stages so far came in the 3-0 win over Young Boys in their opening match.
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Indeed, tonight could see United go three European games without a goal for the first time since November 2005, having already failed to score in back-to-back continental matches for the first time since 2012.
Things are at least better at the other end, where Dybala's goal was the first they had conceded in this season's competition. As a result, only Juve themselves have conceded fewer in the group stages, which is in stark contrast to their Premier League defensive record of 18 goals conceded and only one clean sheet.
United have not lost home and away against a single opponent in a Champions League group stage since 2001-02, when Deportivo La Coruna pulled off the feat, although Juventus are the only other club to have managed it - doing so in 1996-97.
The Italian champions will be firm favourites to do it again tonight, although United are coming into the match off the back of successive wins for the first time since mid-September.
Even those victories have not been entirely convincing, though, and while the priority for United right now is getting results, they will also need an improved performance to stand any chance of getting something out of this game.
The Red Devils needed to hang on against Everton last month before bouncing back from a dreadful first-half display against Bournemouth at the weekend to eventually win 2-1 in stoppage time. However, they have still only won three of their last nine games across all competitions.
United arrive in Turin having lost just one of their last 10 European away games, conceding only four goals in the process - including just one goal in their last four Champions League away outings.
Mourinho's side have also not conceded more than one goal in any of those 10 matches, although that is under serious threat tonight and it could be quite a humbling week for the Red Devils considering they also face Manchester City away from home in the derby on Sunday.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Allianz Stadium, which means that it is time for a prediction!
Juve were so comfortably the better team at Old Trafford that it is difficult to look past them to win again tonight, and with home advantage behind them it should look a lot better on the scoreboard too.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Juventus 3-0 Man Utd
United had won their previous three games against Juventus before last month's defeat, a run which began with their famous comeback victory in the 1999 semi-finals.
The Red Devils' last visit to Turin also produced a result just as impressive as Giggs scored twice and Van Nistelrooy helped himself to another in a 3-0 win for United in February 2003.
No club has won more Champions League away games against Juventus than United - whose tally of two is level with Bayern Munich - so there is a small slice of history in the offing should the visitors pull off a shock tonight.
Juve edge the all-time record between the two teams, though, having won six to United's five of their previous 14 meetings courtesy of that victory at Old Trafford a fortnight ago.
Juve are now on a nine-match unbeaten run against Premier League clubs, winning five of the last six, while United's win in 2003 is the last time the Old Lady was beaten at home by England opposition.
United, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last four away games against Italian clubs, although the defeat last month ended what was an eight-game unbeaten streak against Serie A teams home and away.
Right, the players are out and the anthem has been blared around the stadium. A reminder of the team news before we do get started...
JUVENTUS STARTING XI: Szczesny; De Sciglio, Chiellini, Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Khedira, Pjanic, Bentancur; Dybala, Cuadrado, Ronaldo
MAN UTD STARTING XI: De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Pogba; Lingard, Sanchez, Martial
KICKOFF: Here we go! Manchester United get us underway in Turin!
Poor from Szczesny as he boots the ball straight out of play with the first chance to have the ball at his feet. However, United waste the attacking platform with a foul throw.
United have started this match brightly, looking to get on the front foot early on, but Juve have just had their first dangerous spell of possession and it took an important block from Lindelof to stop Ronaldo's volley from Dybala's effort.
United have the chance to break after a poor Juventus corner, with Sanchez and Lingard leading the charge. The latter misplaces a simple pass, though, and a really good attacking platform goes begging.
Dybala almost needed treatment before this game even began after Szczesny pelted a ball straight at his head!
Pjanic clips a ball forward for Ronaldo, who kills it instantly inside the box but then cannot squeeze his shot past the defender.
SHOT! Sandro drops the ball back to Bentancur on the edge of the area and the midfielder immediately looks to get a shot away, but his effort is deflected wide of the target.
YELLOW CARD! Matic picks up an early yellow card for a lunging scissor challenge on Dybala. No complaints there.
United have started a lot better tonight than they did at Old Trafford, when they gave Juventus far too much room on the ball. However, Juve do look dangerous when they come forward and United will know that they cannot switch off for a second tonight.
UPDATE: The first goal of the 8pm kickoffs has gone to a Manchester team, but it is City who have taken the lead against Shakhtar through David Silva.
SHOT! Ronaldo has his first shot of the night as he picks the ball up in space around 30 yards from goal and only ever has one thought in his mind. His shot is dipping, but flies wide with De Gea watching it all the way.
Juventus are slowly gaining a bigger element of control over this game, and they now have a free kick in a good crossing position...
...but Pjanic's delivery is uncharacteristically poor and cleared by the first man.
UPDATE: A couple of other goals to update you on from elsewhere - Real Madrid lead against Plzen through Karim Benzema, while Nabil Fekir has broken the deadlock for Lyon against Hoffenheim.
We're midway through the first half now and, while Juventus are on top right now, Mourinho will be much happier now than he was at the same stage of the reverse fixture. United are putting pressure on the ball and not letting Juventus have things all their own way, which simply wasn't the case at Old Trafford.
UPDATE: Ominous signs for United ahead of the derby on Sunday as Man City are already 2-0 up against Shakhtar, with Gabriel Jesus doubling their lead from the spot. Madrid are also 2-0 up against Plzen now as Casemiro makes it a quickfire double for the defending champions.
United are proving a tough nut to crack tonight. Juventus are yet to fashion a really good chance and things are not proving as straightforward as many might have expected on the basis of the reverse fixture.
United have their brightest attacking moment of the match so far as Matic clips a pass over the defence towards Sanchez, who has timed his run into the box well but just cannot get on the end of the pass.
SAVE! United win a free kick in a really good position which Sanchez lines up, but his effort goes straight into the wall. Juve immediately break down the other end and Khedira powers a shot towards goal which De Gea needs to save.
United fans may not be happy with the fact that Man City are already two goals to the good, and this is not likely to cheer them up. For the rest of us, though, it is laughable. This is how City were awarded the penalty which led to their second goal!
SAVE! Really smart stop from De Gea! Cuadrado drilled a low cross into the box from the right flank and it took a deflection off Matic on the way through, forcing De Gea to react quickly in order to keep it out.
OFF THE POST! Juventus are inches away from taking the lead, but they really should be ahead! De Sciglio plays the ball down the right channel for Ronaldo, who in turn puts a low cross into the box. Khedira is unmarked, but he drags his effort against the foot of the post with De Gea beaten.
UPDATE: Real Madrid are now three goals to the good against Plzen through Benzema's second, while elsewhere Benfica and Bayern both lead against Lyon are two up against Hoffenheim.
United are hanging on a little bit towards the end of this first half. Juve are piling the pressure on right now and the visitors will just want to get to the interval without suffering any damage now.
Better from United, but they are lacking a cutting edge in the final third at the moment. They have played with a lot more intensity tonight, but have not tested Szczesny in the Juve goal so far.
Dybala swings a free kick into a very dangerous area inside the box and it almost falls to Chiellini, but Herrera gets a crucial toe to it first.
UPDATE: Real Madrid are well and truly back to form now - they are four goals up before half time away to Plzen, with Bale joining the party.
SHOT! There will be a minimum of one minute added time at the end of this first half as Pogba curls a long-range effort towards goal which is gathered by Szczesny.
SHOT! Ronaldo tries his luck late in the half from range and wins a corner out of it, with his strike taking a deflection and going a few yards wide.
HALF TIME: JUVENTUS 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
We're still goalless at half time in Turin, then, and Manchester United will be pretty happy with how they have played in this match so far.
The possession and chances have fallen the way of Juventus, but United have by no means been overrun and are much more competitive in this game than they were at Old Trafford last month.
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The closest we have come to a goal saw Juventus hit the post through Sami Khedira, who really should have scored from Ronaldo's cutback.
Khedira was unmarked in the middle but dragged his finish a fraction too much and saw it come off the post on its way behind, with De Gea completely beaten.
De Gea has also been called into action to keep out what would have been an own goal from Matic, while Ronaldo and Bentancur have also had sights of goal for the home side.
However, the Khedira chance is the only really big one that they have created so far, and they are finding things a lot more difficult than they did two weeks ago at Old Trafford.
United have barely offered anything going forward themselves, with the exception of a long-range Pogba effort which was easy for the keeper, but they have held their own in open play.
Even so, the visitors need more cutting edge in the final third if they are to pull off a shock victory tonight, having failed to really trouble Szczesny so far.
KICKOFF: Juventus get us back underway for the second half at the Allianz Stadium!
UPDATE: Man City haven't taken long to get going in the second half - Raheem Sterling has made it 3-0 against Shakhtar.
CHANCE! United create their best chance of the match so far as Martial dribbles inside before trying to curl an effort into the far corner which goes a couple of yards wide.
OFF THE BAR! Juventus are denied by the woodwork again! This time it is a brilliant effort from Dybala, who gets a potent mix of power, curl and dip on his effort from the edge of the box. De Gea doesn't even move before it flashes past him, but he turns around to see it crash off the crossbar!
That is twice United have had to rely on the woodwork now - could it be their night? They still need to improve their attacking threat, although Martial's chance early in this second half was a positive start.
Concern for Young here as he needs treatment after a hefty collision with Sandro. That looks like a painful one for the United skipper.
YELLOW CARD! Sandro has picked up a yellow card for that challenge on Young, who is only now back to his feet.
De Sciglio goes bursting down the right flank, cruising past Pogba like he isn't there. However, the full-back's low cross is easily cut out.
United have battled very well in this game, but one player who is struggling to make an impact is Pogba. The game is passing the former Juve midfielder by tonight.
JUVENTUS SUB: Juve make their first change of the night as Blaise Matuidi replaces Khedira.
Really good defending from Luke Shaw as he bravely gets a head to Ronaldo's dangerous cross from the left. Cuadrado was attacking it and Shaw got clattered for his troubles, but it was a vital piece of defending from the full-back.
UPDATE: Ajax have levelled things up away to Benfica, but it is a long way back for Hoffenheim, who are now down to 10 men in addition to being two goals behind.
GOAL! JUVENTUS 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED (CRISTIANO RONALDO)
GOAL! Oh my word! What a way to end your Champions League drought!
Ronaldo has just scored an absolute beauty to break the deadlock against his former club, lashing a stunning first-time volley past a helpless De Gea. Bonucci picked him out with a pass over the top, and Ronaldo watched it all the way over his shoulder before producing an unstoppable strike.
Sensational finish.
CHANCE! Big chance for Juve to add a quickfire second as Ronaldo lays the ball into the path of Pjanic, whose first-time curling effort is parried away by De Gea before being hacked clear by Herrera.
MAN UTD SUB: Change from the visitors here as Marcus Rashford replaces Jesse Lingard.
UPDATE: Man City and Real Madrid cannot stop scoring tonight. Jesus has scored his second penalty of the night to make it 4-0 at the Etihad, while Toni Kroos has added a fifth for Real Madrid at Plzen. Meanwhile, 10-man Hoffenheim have pulled a goal back against Lyon and Bayern Munich have doubled their lead over AEK Athens.
CHANCE! Another chance for Juventus to double their advantage as they pinch the ball off Pogba deep inside the Juventus half. The ball is teed up for Pjanic, but he gets his shot all wrong and puts it well wide when he would have at least expected to hit the target.
CHANCE! Juventus should be out of sight by now! Another glorious chance goes begging as Cuadrado drives forward before giving the ball to Ronaldo, who cuts inside before giving it back. Cuadrado does not seem to be expecting the return pass, though, and spoons his finish over when he simply had to score.
YELLOW CARD! Strange one from the referee here as Dybala is hauled back by Herrera off the ball, only for both players to be shown a yellow card. Dybala didn't really do anything wrong there!
Ronaldo lines the resulting free kick up from range, but his effort goes straight into the wall. Poor from the goalscorer.
SHOT! Juventus are peppering the United goal again now and De Gea is once again left as a mere spectator as he watches Pjanic's swerving drive fly just over the crossbar.
MAN UTD SUBS: Double change for United here as Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini replace Herrera and Sanchez.
SHOT! United have an increasingly rare effort on goal as Rashford turns and then lets fly from range, but his low drive bounces wide of the target.
OK, you've waited long enough - here is that Ronaldo stunner which separates the sides...
JUVENTUS SUB: Another change from the hosts here as Andrea Barzagli replaces De Sciglio.
United are not out of this one just yet! Martial gets down the left channel and puts the ball into the box which Szczesny palms out into the area and Chiellini then hacks away.
...and now the visitors have a free kick in a very dangerous position after good work from Martial.
GOAL! JUVENTUS 1-1 MANCHESTER UNITED (JUAN MATA)
GOAL! Brilliant from Mata! The Spaniard lines up the free kick and curls it over the wall and beyond Szczesny!
That is a huge goal for United, who are now just a few minutes away from a hugely impressive result in Turin!
As things stand, that goal sends United back up to second in the group, above Valencia on goal difference. A big, big goal for the Red Devils!
SHOT! Cuadrado cuts inside before teeing up Dybala, but he tries to cut across it and gets it all wrong, firing his effort well wide.
GOAL! JUVENTUS 1-2 MANCHESTER UNITED (LEONARDO BONUCCI, OWN GOAL)
GOAL! Oh my word, incredible scenes in Turin as United produce a stunning late turnaround to take the lead!
Young swings a deep free kick into the box which Fellaini just cannot reach, but which still causes problems. Players are racing in on top of Szczesny, who can only parry it out against Bonucci, who is helpless the ball bounces off him and over the line.
SHOT! Bonucci tries to atone for that own goal with a long-range drive which flies a few yards wide.
JUVENTUS SUB: A third and final change for the hosts as Mario Mandzukic replaces Cuadrado.
CHANCE! Huge chance for United to seal the win as Martial drives forward before playing Rashford in, but Szczesny pulls off a really good save! Could that prove costly for United?
FULL TIME: JUVENTUS 1-2 MANCHESTER UNITED
Incredible. Who saw that coming?! Manchester United score twice in the final five minutes to produce an amazing comeback in Turin, beating Juventus 2-1 courtesy of goals from Juan Mata and a Leonardo Bonucci own goal - after Ronaldo had opened the scoring in such style.
It is a result every bit as impressive as their 3-2 win here in 1999 or their 3-0 triumph in 2003, and it is a much bigger shock than those two results as well!
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Manchester United pull off a memorable comeback victory away to Juventus in Turin. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
