Real Madrid vs Juventus Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

To say that Julen Lopetegui has a tough job on his hands would be an understatement. He takes over Real Madrid as they look to narrow the gap between them and Barcelona in La Liga, while also having to deal with the pressure that stems from an incredible three consecutive Champions League trophies. To add to all of that, he has to do it without Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been their talisman for the past nine years.

Ronaldo finally left the Bernabeu this summer, heading over to Turin to join none other than Juventus. Unfortunately, his participation in the Champions League knockout stages afforded him an extended break and we won’t get to see him in action against his former club here, but we could see his potential replacement for the Spaniards.

18 year old Vinicius Junior joined Los Blancos from Flamengo this summer for a huge £45 million, and with that price tag comes the weight of expectation. He made his debut in their 2-1 loss to Manchester United on Wednesday, along with right back Alvaro Odriozola. Both Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale started that game too, with Toni Kroos and Isco making late cameos.

Real Madrid have certainly brought a strong squad to the International Champions Cup, but at the moment it looks likely that a lot of the players involved in the World Cup will be eased back into action. Their attacking setup won’t be troubled too much by this, but at the back they look rather short on proven quality.

Juventus are also missing many of their first team players. Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Douglas Costa all reported for training in Turin this week, but they will remain on that side of the Atlantic rather than joining the team in America.

It’s not like the Serie A champions are short on quality though. New signings Joao Cancelo, Mattia Perin, Andrea Favilli, and Emre Can have all seen plenty of action in pre-season, and they also have Sami Khedira, Andrea Barzagli, Alex Sandro, and Miralem Pjanic to call upon.

Juventus have already been in action three times this summer, beating Bayern Munich 2-0 before drawing with Benfica and MLS All-Stars. With them conceding in both of these draws we can’t see them keeping a clean sheet against the almost full contingent of Real Madrid attackers, but they should be able to find the net.

Real Madrid are lacking in match practise compared to the Italians, and they conceded two against a considerably weakened Manchester United front line. Add that to their second string defensive lineup and backing Both Teams to Score looks a great value bet. We’re going for that along with a 2-1 win for the more match practised Juventus.