Juventus vs Lokomotiv Moscow Predictions

Juventus are back in Champions League action on Tuesday, with the Italian champions chasing three points at home to Lokomotiv Moscow. The hosts are on a six-game winning run, which they’ll be out to extend this week. Can they breeze past the Russian side at the Allianz Stadium, or could the visitors throw a spanner in the works at the top of this group?

Juve are quickly getting to grips with Maurizio Sarri and his style of play. While there were a few early teething issues, the hosts seem to be settling to a revised approach from their new boss. He’s certainly getting results with his new side, as Sarri and his men beat Bologna at the weekend to maintain their winning run. They’ve now got a one-point lead at the top of Serie A, while they are also chasing first place in this group.

The visitors are outgunned going up against Juve and Atletico Madrid in Group D. Those two giants are fighting it out for second, leaving Lokomotiv in a race for third with Bayer Leverkusen. So far that’s going quite well for the Russian side, after their 2-1 success in Germany in the group opener. They have three points on the board, just a point shy of the top two.

Lokomotiv lost 2-0 against Atletico in their first home game of the campaign. While they made a strong start, we don’t think the Russian side are quite cut out to match Juventus. After all, Lokomotiv have lost seven of their last nine matches in this competition. Five of those losses have come to nil after a tough run of results, while this is likely to be another step too far for the visitors.

Juventus have won to nil in four of their last six home Champions League ties. They’ve won five games on the bounce here, with clean sheets in two of their last three. The Juve defence seems to be stepping up a gear, while we see them holding out a side who have struggled to find the net at this level over the years. We’re going with a Juventus win to nil as our tip for this clash, while a 2-0 victory for the hosts is our correct score prediction.

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has scored against 33 different opponents in the Champions League, a joint-record with Raúl. He helped to set that record with a goal in their last game, a victory over Bayer Leverkusen.  He could break that record in this match, with this his first appearance against Lokomotiv Moscow. Ronaldo has scored 12 times across his last 12 outings, while he has six goals in four Champions League games for Juve. We expect him to score against Lokomotiv on Tuesday.