‘I fancy them’: Michael Owen gives surprise prediction for Juventus v Chelsea clash
Former Manchester united player Michael Owen is tipping Chelsea to respond to their defeat by Manchester City at the weekend by claiming a 1-0 victory at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
However, Thomas Tuchel watched his side suffer their first Premier League loss of the season on Saturday lunchtime when Manchester City claimed a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge thanks to Gabriel Jesus’ second-half goal.
The Blues had looked a formidable force in the opening weeks of the campaign but they were thoroughly outplayed by Pep Guardiola’s men in south west London at the weekend.
The Champions of Europe will now be firmly focused on bouncing back from Saturday’s disappointment as they look to try and take another big step towards the Champions League knockout phase.
Chelsea have opened their Champions League title defence with a 1-0 win over Zenit Saint-Petersburg earlier in the month, and former England striker Owen is backing them to win by the same scoreline in Turin on Wednesday.
Writing in his column for BetVictor, Owen said: “I’ve got to say, I didn’t see that performance against Man City coming. That was a rare poor showing from Chelsea under Tuchel, but I’d expect him to get a response from his side here.
“I still think Chelsea have a good chance of retaining this trophy. Juventus have started their Serie A season in poor form and frankly, don’t look quite the side they once were.
“I would never write them off, particularly with Allegri back at the helm, but I fancy Chelsea to come back from Turin with a win. One-nil to Chelsea is my prediction.”
Former boss Andrea Pirlo was replaced as Juventus coach in the summer, with Massimiliano Allegri returning to the club he led to the 2015 and 2017 Champions League finals during his previous spell in charge between 2014 and 2019.
The Italian side last faced English opposition in the 2018-19 Champions League group stage, winning 1-0 at Manchester United before a 2-1 home defeat.
After Wednesday’s game, Chelsea FC will switch their attentions towards getting back to winning ways in the Premier League during a home clash against Southampton on Saturday afternoon.