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Juventus: 5 Villarreal players to watch in the Champions League round of 16

By Kevin Parvizi

STADIO RENATO DALL'ARA, BOLOGNA, ITALY - 2021/12/18: Massimiliano Allegri, head coach of Juventus FC, looks on prior to the Serie A football match between Bologna FC and Juventus FC. Juventus FC won 2-0 over Bologna FC. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
STADIO RENATO DALL'ARA, BOLOGNA, ITALY - 2021/12/18: Massimiliano Allegri, head coach of Juventus FC, looks on prior to the Serie A football match between Bologna FC and Juventus FC. Juventus FC won 2-0 over Bologna FC. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images) /
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Villarreal, Pau Torres
Villarreal, Pau Torres (Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images) /

CB Pau Torres

Pau Torres is one of the most coveted young centre backs in world football, so Villarreal have their own young leader and counterweight to Matthijs de Ligt on the Juventus side.

Although Torres does not have the same acclaim as de Ligt, he can say that he helped lead his team to a Europa League triumph, playing a key role in a very defensive display against one of the top four sides in the Premier League.

Torres isn’t just a good defender, though. He is a real asset on the attacking end, as he has scored four goals this season. Juventus must remain vigilant to his threat on set pieces.

RW Samuel Chukwueze

Several quality defenders on Villarreal could be highlighted, such as experienced centre back Raul Albiol (you may have remembered him at Real Madrid) or the versatile Juan Foyth (yet another Argentine player formerly of Spurs). However, I would like to spend the fifth slot on another attacker in Samuel Chukwueze, as he could be a real X-Factor for Villarreal against Juve’s questionable left-back situation.

We saw Chukwueze absolutely toast Marcelo a couple of weeks ago in LaLiga. The Nigerian scored once in the African Cup of Nations and has another goal in the Champions League. He has not been able to show his best stuff in the UCL, but he is averaging two dribbles completed per game in LaLiga and also hit that number at AFCON with an additional two key passes per game.

Next. Ranking Alex Sandro replacements. dark

Chukwueze is still developing at 22 and does not quite have a finishing touch, but he is great at carrying the ball and tormenting fullbacks one-on-one. He is one of those players who makes the forwards look better when he’s on the pitch. Though he is fully expected to start, Chukwueze is one of those players every team dreads coming off the bench.

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