The league phase of the UEFA Champions League starts next as Juventus will welcome PSV Eindhoven on Matchday 1 at Allianz Stadium. The question surrounding the Old Lady in this tournament is whether they can advance to the knockout stage.
Juventus' first four matchdays are against clubs that many would consider the Serie A side as the favorites. After their match against PSV, the Italian club will face RB Leipzig, VfB Stuttgart, and LOSC Lille.
On Matchday 5 and Matchday 6, Thiago Motta and his team will face Aston Villa and Manchester City, two challenging teams. Despite these tough opponents, one pundit believes Juventus should have no issues advancing to the knockout round.
Will Serie A have multiple clubs in the UCL knockout stage?
With Juventus having a favorable set of matches during the league phase, one pundit believes that the Old Lady should be advancing past this stage of the competition along with AC Milan and Inter Milan.
"I believe Juve, Inter, and Milan won't have any trouble advancing to the next round and staying among the top eight," Giancarlo Marocchi said on Sky Sport 24 (h/t TuttoJuve).
Right now, only two teams stand out: Manchester City and Real Madrid. Juve, Inter, and Milan look strong, while Atalanta and Bologna are more uncertain. However, with this format, only 12 teams will be eliminated, so there's plenty of room for everyone to qualify."
It will be interesting to see how Motta handles coaching in the Champions League and whether he has any issues with these tense situations. Should the 42-year-old secure favorable results in his first four matches, Juventus will be in a good position to advance to the knockout stage.
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