Nantes snatched a draw from behind at the Allianz Stadium in the first leg of this UEFA Europa League (UEL) knockout play-off tie, more than holding their own against a Juventus side unbeaten at home in the competition. Now they can complete their quest for vengeance, 27 years after being denied a maiden UEFA Champions League (UCL) final appearance by the Bianconeri, despite a 3-2 semi-final home win back in 1996.
That also came a year after Nantes enjoyed their best run in this competition’s predecessor, when reaching the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. They clearly have the means to frustrate the Turin giants again, having recorded three shutouts in four home games so far this year. There was no clean sheet at the weekend though, as Nantes went down 3-1 at the hands of Lens, and with their top-flight status still not 100% secure, this should be a welcome distraction from their domestic struggles.
Juventus know that winning this competition is now their likeliest route to a UCL return after a recent Serie A points deduction left them well adrift of the top-four, despite a 2-0 weekend win at Spezia. The visitors also face past demons here, having missed out on the final of 2014 after going down 2-1 to Benfica in their most recent UEL away game, but they are still favourites to progress here having never failed to score in a UEL clash on hostile turf (W6, D3, L2).
Juventus’ UEL run of 2014 also saw them beat French opposition (Lyon) 1-0 away in the round prior to their elimination. That contributes to a positive all-time record for Juventus against teams representing France (W19, D8, L8), with that including a win-rate of 43% in away games this century (W3, D1, L3), with all three of those victories coming with an accompanying clean sheet.
Players to watch: Nantes midfielder Ludovic Blas cancelled out Dušan Vlahović’s opener in the first leg, for his sixth straight goal to arrive in or after the 60th minute. For Juventus, Moise Kean is a viable option alongside Vlahović, and he’s scored the match opener with four of his last five strikes, most recently netting the winner at Spezia on Sunday.
Hot streak: All of Nantes’ prior home games this year have produced goalless first halves.
