Juventus Vs Bordeaux Preview: Champions League

Juventus vs Bordeaux

Tuesday 15 September 2009, Stadio Olimpico—Turin, Kick-Off: 20:45 CET (19:45 UK Time)

Juventus

Juventus come into the Champions League match with Bordeaux after three fine victories to start their Serie A campaign.

The 2008/09 Serie A runners-up have enjoyed their travels to Rome in recent weeks having beaten both Roma and Lazio in consecutive matches to ensure their perfect start.

Diego has been a force to be reckoned with in the midfield for Ciro Ferrara’s men since his summer transfer from Werder Bremen. The Brazilian plays a very comparable role to that of which Kaká had at Milan. Diego was replaced at halftime in Saturday’s match against Lazio, probably in an effort to keep him rested for the match against Bordeaux.

David Trezeguet was selected ahead of Vincenzo Iaquinta against Lazio and scored in the 90th minute. Iaquinta had started the previous two matches for Ferrara and it will be interesting to see if Ferrara elects to stick with the Frenchman on Tuesday.

One thing is certain, Ferrara has the luxury of depth at the forward position (Del Piero, Trezeguet, Iaquinta, Amauri).

Bordeaux

Laurent Blanc’s FC Girondins de Bordeaux became the first club, other than Lyon, to win the French Ligue 1 since 2001 with a fine display in the 2008/09 season.

They were rewarded with a birth to the Champions League, where they are no stranger to the competition. Success in the Champions League, however, has been at a premium for les Girondins, something Blanc will be looking to improve on in the upcoming campaign.

Bordeaux have started the domestic league picking up where they left off. Blanc’s men have accumulated 13 points from the opening five games and will hope their run of good form continues ahead of the trip to Turin.

Yoann Gourcuff developed into the player Milan believed he would someday become after returning to France, and his contributions were largely to thank for winning the Ligue 1 title. He has continued to find the net early this season as he now has four goals in four games for Bordeaux.

Marouane Chamakh, a Moroccan international striker, has continued scoring in the new season, adding three goals in four appearances for Blanc. Last season, Chamakh tallied 13 goals in 25 appearances for Bordeaux.

Prediction

Bordeaux are a team moving in the right direction. The optimistic football that they play is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise chaotic league that only has a handful of teams capable of turning in consistent results.

Gourcuff is a scoring machine and has drawn the attention of most European managers. However, Juventus should prove to be a number too large in this match as they’ve got quality and depth at every position.

Ferrara’s arrival at Juventus has produced some lovely football, and a trip to Turin will not be a joyous adventure for neither Italian teams, nor European ones.

Juventus vs Bordeaux Prediction: Juventus 3—Bordeaux 0

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