Malmö bow out of Europe
More or less the important decisions in Group H of the UEFA Champions League 2021/22 have already been made. The two teams promoted to the round of 16 have been determined and will fight for the group victory on the last matchday. Juventus Turin’s compulsory task is Malmö FF from Sweden
After Juventus’ 4-0 defeat against Chelsea last matchday, the “old lady” has lost the top spot in the table and now needs help from St. Petersburg. There are hardly any doubts about their own victory, as odds of under 1.20 are offered for a home win between Juventus and Malmö. For the Swedish visitors, the match at the Allianz Stadium is definitely the international finale of the current season. An overwintering is no longer possible.
Accordingly, Malmö can play completely free in Turin and have nothing to lose. This could basically speak for a game with many goals. The match kicks off at an early CL time of 18:45 on Wednesday evening.
Juventus – Statistics & current form
While performances in the domestic championship have been a major disappointment, Juventus Turin fans have at least been able to console themselves somewhat with good performances in the UEFA Champions League. A fortnight ago, the “old lady” was brought back down to earth and suffered a 4-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge. For Juventus, this was the highest international defeat since a 0:7 against Wiener Sportklub in 1958.
Five CL home wins in a row
Winning the group is still possible, but should Chelsea hold on at St Petersburg, Allegri’s eleven will definitely remain in second place. Before looking to Russia, it is a matter of fulfilling the duty. The chances against the visitors, who have already been eliminated, are more than good.
Not only the direct comparison speaks for the Bianconeri, but also the fact that Juventus Turin have won each of their last five Champions League home games. Only once in the 21st century have Juventus won more home games in a row. The Bianconeri could set the record of six games (December 2016 to October 2017) on Wednesday night.
Rotation is to be expected
In the domestic championship, Allegri’s eleven have climbed a little in recent weeks and now find themselves in fifth place. However, the gap to a Champions League starting place for 2022/23 is already seven points.
At least there has been a clear upward trend recently, as the Italian top club has won four of the last five league games and did not concede a goal. Only in the 1-0 defeat against Atalanta Bergamo did the Pole Szczesny have to make a save.
This upward form would in principle speak for another “win to nil”, but Massimiliano Allegri will probably rotate a little on Wednesday evening in order to manage the high workload of the last few weeks. Accordingly, coordination problems are to be expected and with Juventus against Malmö, betting on goals from both teams is a good idea.
Predicted Juventus line-up:
Szczesny – Alex Sandro, Rugani, de Ligt, Cuadrado – Kulusevski, Arthur, Locatelli, McKennie – Kean, Morata
Last matches played by Juventus:
Serie A
12/05 2021 – Juventus Turin 2 – 0 Genoa
11/30 2021 – Salernitana 0 – 2 Juventus Turin
11/27 2021 – Juventus Turin 0 – 1 Atalanta Bergamo
Champions League Grp. H
11/23 2021 – Chelsea London 4 – 0 Juventus Turin
Serie A
11/20 2021 – Lazio Roma 0 – 2 Juventus Turin
Malmo – Statistics & current form
The hard ground of reality was also felt by the team of head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson. Under the former Danish professional (VFB Stuttgart, among others), the team first succeeded in qualifying before losing all of their first four Champions League matches.
First point on matchday five
The losing streak was stopped a fortnight ago and Malmö managed a 1-1 draw against Zenit Saint Petersburg in their last home match. A draw that ultimately felt like a defeat, as the Swedes only conceded the equaliser in the 92nd minute after a harsh handball penalty.
With that, the international elimination was finally sealed and a progression is no longer possible. Now, on Wednesday in Turin, there is a chance to play two group games in a row without defeat for the first time in the 21st century. The last time the Swedes achieved this feat was in 1990, but this is not really realistic, as double chance X2 odds of over 5.50 are offered for Juventus against Malmö.
Signs of this, however, are limited, after all, Malmö is considered the weakest CL team this season. Six shots per game, an expected 0.3 goals per game and actually only one goal scored are respectively the weakest statistics of all 32 CL teams in 2021/22.
Title successfully defended
Despite this, the Tomasson eleven should have enough self-confidence, because the goalless draw against Halmstad last weekend also meant the defence of the title for Malmö. Thanks to a goal difference of just eight goals, Malmö have secured the 22nd title in the club’s history.
However, the Swedes will not be able to play with their best players. Captain Anders Christiansen, veteran Ola Toivonen and Jonas Knudsen are all unavailable, serious absences that cannot be adequately replaced.
Predicted line-up of Malmö:
Dahlin – Brorsson, Ahmedhodzic, Moisander – Rieks, Innocent, Lewicki, Larsson – Birmancevic, Colak, Pena
Last matches played by Malmö:
Allsvenskan
12/04 2021 – Malmö FF 0 – 0 Halmstads BK
11/28 2021 – Kalmar FF 0 – 1 Malmö FF
Champions League Grp. H
11/23 2021 – Malmo FF 1 – 1 Zenit St. Petersburg
Allsvenskan
11/20 2021 – Malmo FF 2 – 2 Häcken
11/07 2021 – IFK Göteburg 0 – 2 Malmö FF
Juventus – Malmo Direct comparison / H2H-balance
So far, the “old lady” has always lived up to the role of favourite against the Sky Blues from Sweden. The two teams have faced each other three times so far and Juventus Turin have won all three games. Juventus have yet to concede a goal, only FC Barcelona have achieved the feat in CL history of winning their first four CL games against a particular opponent (BATE Borisov) by zero.
Juventus – Malmo tip
The description “David against Goliath” is absolutely correct for this duel. The starting position is clear and almost all areas make the hosts appear to be the clear favourites and accordingly the odds are also low for betting on a home win for Juventus against Malmö. For an interesting possibility of winning, other, somewhat riskier, bets must be considered here.
One possibility is to predict that Juventus will score against Malmo. A little surprising at first, as Juventus have won their three previous games against the Swedes without scoring a goal. However, Malmö can act completely free on Wednesday and will arrive with a lot of self-confidence after the fixed championship title. The home side, on the other hand, will by no means be at their best here and the visitors could well create chances accordingly.
