Will the Winter Break Hand Juventus an Edge in the Champions League?

Having returned to contention at the top of Serie A, Juventus will now enjoy a well-earned rest as the league takes its winter break. The Bianconeri—who have won their last seven games to move within three points of leaders Inter—will not return to action until their January 6 meeting with Hellas Verona.

The benefits of that time off have long been discussed, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Silva believing the Ligue 1 side will gain a major advantage in their forthcoming Champions League clash with Chelsea.

With the French club enjoying a three-week pause of their own, the defender discussed the matter at length in an interview with Omnisport (h/t Sam Long of the Evening Standard) earlier this month:

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Chelsea are playing at Christmas and New Year and that must be a great effort for them, a very difficult moment both mentally and physically.

When it comes to the crucial moments of the season, the knockout stages of the Champions League and the end of the local leagues, they are more tired because they didn't have a winter break.

I hope we can take advantage of this situation, but in the Champions League you never know what is going to happen.

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Indeed, with the Premier League side forced to contend with the traditional but congested fixture list over the festive period, they are almost certain to enter that tie much more fatigued than PSG.

Darko Bandic/Associated Press/Associated Press

Sadly for Juventus, the draw for Europe’s elite competition has not pitted them against an English side and instead sees them paired with Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga takes an even longer break than the continent’s other divisions, not returning until January 22, which hands its clubs a significant edge.

That was a belief Arsene Wenger endorsed when his Arsenal side were paired with the Bavarian giants back in 2013, explaining the benefits of a month off to the club’s official website, as he told them:

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What people forget with a long winter break is during that break the international players get real rest as well, which is not the case in the summer.

In the summer your players only sometimes get two or three weeks off because they play in the big tournaments, you have to get them back and they do start the new season without being completely rested.

If you have a big winter break, because the national teams don't play during that break, the international players who are the most exposed to severe physical stress have a real rest as well in winter, and that is a massive advantage.

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With the Juventus and Bayern tie scheduled to take place on February 23 and March 16, the Bundesliga side will have time to shake off the rust and get back into the incredible form they have displayed thus far in 2015/16.

Michael Probst/Associated Press

Pep Guardiola’s men have lost just one domestic fixture this term, also taking 15 points from their six Champions League group-stage games, meaning they pose a formidable threat to Juve’s hopes of progress.

Despite their recent resurgence, the Bianconeri know they face a tough challenge if they are to overcome Bayern. Perhaps the announcement that Guardiola is to quit his coaching role—per BBC Sport—will see them lose focus, but that is unlikely given the sheer depth of quality within their squad.

Taking on that star-studded lineup when they are well-rested will negate any advantage Juventus earn from their own winter break, and they will need to be at their best to earn a place in the quarter-finals.