Juventus will face Villarreal on Tuesday night in the Champions League Round of 16. While the Yellow Submarine are one of the underdogs in the competition, they are evenly matched with the Bianconeri on paper. Currently sixth in LaLiga, Villarreal are attempting to make a march up the table into the top four to secure UCL football next season.
Of course, Villarreal weren’t great in last year’s LaLiga, but they qualified for the Champions League through dominance in the Europa League, winning the competition against Manchester United after a dramatic shootout.
Let’s take a look at five players on the Yellow Submarine whom Juventus must keep an especially close eye on at the Estadio de la Ceramica. These players could very well decide the game.
FW Arnaut Danjuma
We begin with the man in-form, Arnaut Danjuma. This past weekend, the Dutchman scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 demolition of Granada, adding four completed dribbles and two key passes. Danjuma has been one of the signings of the season in LaLiga and is a huge danger man for the Yellow Submarine.
Gerard Moreno’s injury would normally be on the end of his team’s chances in a big match like this one, but Danjuma’s rich vein of form ensures that Villarreal still boasts a distinct goalscoring threat. Juve’s defence, which has its own injury woes, will have serious trouble dealing with Danjuma, who has scored eight goals in league play and four already in the Champions League. And his average of two dribbles completed per game in the UCL must also be respected.