[unitedlad]

Italians are going to win it all.

Barcelona are not used to playing against such an organised defence. Juve are dangerous on the break.

Crazy odds.

[whareouttogetme]

Already got em outright at 20/1 before the Dortmund game. Gonna let it ride, odds are too low for Barca.

[LFC1892]

You forget about the greatest in the world. Messi won't hide like Ronaldo. Mark my words.

[Betlitelli]

You forget about the greatest in the world. Messi won't hide like Ronaldo. Mark my words.

Messi was worst player on the pitch last year against similar organised defence like Atletico in CL also did shit in World Cup final and semi. Ronaldo at least scored 2goals against Juve.Of course there is value on Juve only one game in neutral pitch...

[Stokes36]

Can't see that happening. They obviously have a chance, but they haven't played against a team all year with as much talent or in as great of form as Barca is. Juve is extremely talented defending, but the 3 pronged attack of Messi, Neymar and Suarez just seems like something incredibly difficult to manage.

I can't wait to watch it though, in a few weeks. lol

[LFC1892]

Messi was worst player on the pitch last year against similar organised defence like Atletico in CL also did shit in World Cup final and semi. Ronaldo at least scored 2goals against Juve.Of course there is value on Juve only one game in neutral pitch...

You can't compare Ronaldo with Messi. Ronaldo is great but Messi is from another planet. And you can't compare different years. Barcelona last year is completely different with Barcelona this year. Mainly because of the change of style.

[plekz]

i do not see evra of 2015 or lichsteiner having much luck stopping neymar or messi. it wasn't lack of chances that kept real down, it was the current form of their players not being great, on the flipside in barcelona you have huey,duey and louie aka tres amigos in exellent form combining for a staggering 115 goals so far this season.

[cryptocap]

easy dexter

[vasilli07]

I actually like this play. Sometimes cup finals are not decided by quality of the team but luck too. Like in the 2012 finals, Bayern totally battered Chelsea(without 1 few 1st XI players). For some strange reason, they miss a pk in extra time and even lost the shootout. There is a saying that Germans never lose a pk shootout.

Despite Buffon being 1 of the best gk in the past 15 years or so, he has never ever won the CL. Both he and Pirlo will be back at Berlin, a place where the Italians won their World Cup in 2006. We will never know if things will come a full circle.

[unitedlad]

This game is a coin flip in my opinion.

This game is some what similar to the semi-final tie v Real. Obviously Barca have the more technically gifted front 3, however Juve are better everywhere else on the park.

Messi is Barca's number 10 which means Pirlo will be given time to operate. You do that and your asking for trouble.

Juve back at the top, where they should be, and their bringing the CL with them.

[plekz]

you are reaching here to justify a bet, moreso then actually looking at what has transpired, how many clear chances yesterday did real blow? they choked massively due to the form of their attacking players not being great. you give messi,neymar or suarez (or even rakitic or iniesta) the sort of open looks real blew yesterday and they'll put them away.

ter stegen is a better goalie then buffon at this stage, alba and alves are better then lichsteiner and evra of 2015, and i would take mascherano over chielini aswell, chielini has done something dumb in almost every game thus far that juve has played, and bonucci and pique are comparable in the way they've played.

don't let barca droppin a game to bayern cloud your judgement here, they'd already scored twice and took suarez off at the start of the 2nd half, up until that time bayern wasn't lookin that great at all.

[slayer14]

Italian team is due to win i think it was like 7 years ago when ac milan won it.

[Blackballer]

Italians are going to win it all.

Barcelona are not used to playing against such an organised defence. Juve are dangerous on the break.

Crazy odds.

Barcelona will be a heavy favorite. Juve is worth the shot here, agree. Barcelona the public favorite definitely.

[Blackballer]

Barcelona will be a heavy favorite. Juve is worth the shot here, agree. Barcelona the public favorite definitely.

Plus don't forget: Andrea Pirlo has a good memory when it comes to the Olympiastadion in Berlin since he has won the World Cup 2006 there with Italay vs France.

[unitedlad]

you are reaching here to justify a bet, moreso then actually looking at what has transpired, how many clear chances yesterday did real blow? they choked massively due to the form of their attacking players not being great. you give messi,neymar or suarez (or even rakitic or iniesta) the sort of open looks real blew yesterday and they'll put them away.

ter stegen is a better goalie then buffon at this stage, alba and alves are better then lichsteiner and evra of 2015, and i would take mascherano over chielini aswell, chielini has done something dumb in almost every game thus far that juve has played, and bonucci and pique are comparable in the way they've played.

don't let barca droppin a game to bayern cloud your judgement here, they'd already scored twice and took suarez off at the start of the 2nd half, up until that time bayern wasn't lookin that great at all.

I'm not reaching at all here. Not forcing anything. Going through the past CL final results, this bet represents incredible value.

Real had their best chances at the start of the game and went up to a flukey penalty decision, poor decision by Chielinni to make the challenge there. Juve were shaky for the first 15 minutes or so, but then actually settled into the game as the game went on. This will be important in the final, as it is unlikely there will be an early goal.

Juve had to get a goal for about 40 minutes of the game and then closed out marvelouslly. Apart from the Bale chance from Marcelo's cross, Real didn't really have a clear cut chances within this time. Juve have an incredible ability to frustrate their opponents and close out games.

Leichensteiner and Evra were two of Juve's best performers last night. They have great experience and are very positionally disciplined. This defence is extremely stubborn. With Marchisio sitting in front and Vidal's not stop energy, I can't see Barca scoring more than one.

Juve have the height and strength adavantage all over the park. Barca will find it difficult to cope with their physicality.

Also - Ter Stegen > Buffon

[unitedlad]

In fact, I would have been all over Barcelona had Real Madrid progressed.

Barcelona do not match up with Juventus well.

[plekz]

I'm not reaching at all here. Not forcing anything. Going through the past CL final results, this bet represents incredible value.

Real had their best chances at the start of the game and went up to a flukey penalty decision, poor decision by Chielinni to make the challenge there. Juve were shaky for the first 15 minutes or so, but then actually settled into the game as the game went on. This will be important in the final, as it is unlikely there will be an early goal.

Juve had to get a goal for about 40 minutes of the game and then closed out marvelouslly. Apart from the Bale chance from Marcelo's cross, Real didn't really have a clear cut chances within this time. Juve have an incredible ability to frustrate their opponents and close out games.

Leichensteiner and Evra were two of Juve's best performers last night. They have great experience and are very positionally disciplined. This defence is extremely stubborn. With Marchisio sitting in front and Vidal's not stop energy, I can't see Barca scoring more than one.

Juve have the height and strength adavantage all over the park. Barca will find it difficult to cope with their physicality.

Also - Ter Stegen > Buffon

evra lost track of bale numerous times and lichsteiner struggled aswell, that won't end well at all when it's neymar and messi running against them instead. as for ''physicality'' yeah we saw how that went the first time around with bayern munchen. i also wouldn't rely on pirlo his performances are very up & down.

and yeah in terms of quality ter stegen has a more even curve then buffon, buffon's highest curve is still better then stegens, but when buffon has his senior moments they are just as bad as cassilas are.

shaky for the first 15? 13 chances in the first half for real, everytime real had the ball close to juve's box they looked stressed as hell, and that one penalty easily could have been two if james hadn't started diving to early, since the contact on the second ocasion was bigger then on the first that resulted in one.

soon as benzema came off yesterday real stagnated completly.

[vasilli07]

Champions League: Why you should back Juventus against Barcelona

After watching Juventus eliminate Real Madrid without much turbulence, you are doubtless kicking yourself for not backing them to win the Champions League at 9.6 after the semi-final draw, or 15.5 before the quarter-final pairings were announced, or even further back when they traded at 75.0.

However, instead of mourning those missed opportunities, your priority should be making sure that you don't repeat the error, with the Old Lady still an attractive price to back at 3.55 given that there is just one team left to conquer. Here's why they should be fancied...

Allegri has beaten Barcelona with less

Not only has Massimiliano Allegri defeated Barcelona before, he earned a 2-0 victory two seasons ago with this AC Milan XI: Christian Abbiati; Kevin Constant, Philippe Mexes, Cristian Zapata, Ignazio Abate; Massimo Ambrosini, Riccardo Montolivo, Sulley Muntari; Stephan El Shaarawy, Giampaolo Pazzini, Kevin-Prince Boateng.

None of those players would get in a Juventus team packed with stars from Gianluigi Buffon to Giorgio Chiellini to Paul Pogba to Carlos Tevez, not to mention Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Alvaro Morata. Indeed, several wouldn't even be worthy of a spot in the squad. Allegri never had much joy at Camp Nou, besides a draw in 2011, but is unbeaten in three against them away from Catalonia.

He also has a decent handle on how to resist Lionel Messi because at one stage his Rossoneri side stopped the Argentine from scoring in open play in five straight meetings - two of them in Spain.

At the very least, a Cash Out window beckons

The previous three Champions League finals had clear favourites, but there was nothing routine about any of the actual encounters. Chelsea soaked up heaps of pressure at the Allianz Arena to take the 2011/12 to a penalty shootout and ultimately lift the trophy in Bayern Munich's backyard.

Borussia Dortmund were minutes away from taking their domestic foes to extra time in 2012/13, only for Arjen Robben to snatch an 89th-minute winner, and Atletico Madrid led Real Madrid from minutes 36 to 93 at Lisbon's Estadio da Luz last May.

It is worth emphasising that Barcelona have been defeated twice in this season's Champions League - at Paris St-Germain in the group stage and on their latest trip to Germany to face Bayern Munich - while Juventus have gone nine fixtures without a loss, conceding just three times in the last eight.

There is plenty for the omen fans

The most recent five Spain v Italy finals saw the nations take turns to triumph. Real Madrid denied AC Milan in 1957/58, Inter outshined Real in 1963/64, Barcelona edged Sampdoria in 1991/92, AC Milan thrashed Barcelona in 1993/94 and Real beat Juventus in 1997/98, so it is Serie A's turn.

Though Italy have supplied a disappointing two finalists in the past nine years, both prevailed: AC Milan seeing off Liverpool in 2006/07 and Inter sinking Bayern Munich in 2009/10. Then of course you have the subplot of Berlin's Olympiastadion being the stage of Buffon and Pirlo's career highlight - their World Cup 2006 final success.

[plekz]

real was in a similar situation last year as this year, struggling keeping form, ronaldo was playing injured and so on. unless messi,neymar and suarez suddenly get injured or started performing poorly there is no simalarities to be made what so ever to previous fixtures.

they are argueably three of the top 5 attackers in the world,

[unitedlad]

evra lost track of bale numerous times and lichsteiner struggled aswell, that won't end well at all when it's neymar and messi running against them instead. as for ''physicality'' yeah we saw how that went the first time around with bayern munchen. i also wouldn't rely on pirlo his performances are very up & down.

and yeah in terms of quality ter stegen has a more even curve then buffon, buffon's highest curve is still better then stegens, but when buffon has his senior moments they are just as bad as cassilas are.

shaky for the first 15? 13 chances in the first half for real, everytime real had the ball close to juve's box they looked stressed as hell, and that one penalty easily could have been two if james hadn't started diving to early, since the contact on the second ocasion was bigger then on the first that resulted in one.

soon as benzema came off yesterday real stagnated completly.

Evra did a great job of showing Bale inside and the cutting off a pass into the channels, basically forcing him to take poor shots from long distance. Real had very little success down the wings so I'm not sure what your basing this on. Most likely nothing.

If Bayern had Robben fit, (remember they also had their 2nd or 3rd best player in Alaba out also), that tie would have ended very differently - also are you comparing the physicality of Thiago and Lahm to Vidal and Marchiso or Pogba - Come on! Juve have the best all-round MF in the world, and if Pogba can get a decent bit of playing time between now and the final, it could make the real difference.

Pirlo actually played pretty poor last night and Juve still had a great part of possession - so I'm not relying on him playing well at all. It would just help if he did. Pirlo basically plays well if he has the space to do so, which is my point. He will be given that space.

Senior moments? Buffon has been outstanding this season. There is a reason that Ter Stegen only plays the cup games, if he was better than Buffon, I think there would be a good chance of him being the first name on the team sheet every game.

13 chances?! haha. You classify them as chances? They had 1 maybe 2 great chances in the first half and 1 great chance in the second - which is probably equal to what Juve had.

Yeah, they looked really stressed constantly heading the ball clear out of their box. Yes, Barca will present a new challenge of playing through balls, but Juve will just sit deep and frustrate the hell out of Barca. It is going to take a very special individual performance from Messi to win this game in normal time. Vidal and Marchiso are almost hand made to play against Messi - they're fast, strong, and great in the tackle. Messi is in for a real challenge in 3 weeks time.

[LFC1892]

This game will be like Barcelona-Man United Final in 2009- 2-0. Not to mention that Neymar Messi and Suarez are even better than Henry Messi and Eto'o back then. Barcelona have the same style as in 2009.

[Rudeboy]

This game will be like Barcelona-Man United Final in 2009- 2-0. Not to mention that Neymar Messi and Suarez are even better than Henry Messi and Eto'o back then. Barcelona have the same style as in 2009.

That 2009 team was miles better...

[LFC1892]

That 2009 team was miles better...

The stats are showing the opposite though.

[Rudeboy]

The stats are showing the opposite though.

happens...

[unitedlad]

This game will be like Barcelona-Man United Final in 2009- 2-0. Not to mention that Neymar Messi and Suarez are even better than Henry Messi and Eto'o back then. Barcelona have the same style as in 2009.

IT will be nothing like that game. Compare that united team to the current Juventus team - especially the midfield. United got to those finals a few years ago between Fergie and Ronaldo, that squad was piss poor compared to many of the teams in the tournament.

Juventus have a genuinely excellent team - and like I said - have more than enough quality to beat Barcelona.

[unitedlad]

That 2009 team was miles better...

Agreed. That Pep Barca team will go down as one of the best teams to have ever played together.

The current Barca team is very good but doesn't have any where near the same ability to completely control the game from the 1st minute to the last. I actually prefer watching the current team as I love watching counter attacking football rather than the tiki taka we saw with Pep's team.

This year's team is good at controlling a game (not as good as Juve imo) - and extremely good on the counter attack. But the counter attack is only successful when there is space behind the defence. Juve will not allow this. They will sit deep and try to pick Barca off on the counter. The longer the game goes on without a goal, the more likely it is that Juve will win.

I can't really stress enough how much value there is in this bet. I would have expected these type of odds for Juve to win in 90, but considering the amount of CL finals that have gone to ET throughout the years, this is an excellent bet. We all know, once a game goes to ET - it is anyone's to win.

[LFC1892]

I respect your opinion mate. But the current Barcelona team have better stats than Barcelona in 2009 in every aspect of the game. They have almost the same style though. I'm not betting on it yet because there might be some injures etc but if everything is ok I will be on Barcelona even on ah. United was defending champions and the credit don't go to Fergie and Ronaldo only for sure.

[unitedlad]

Come back to me when this current Barca team win 3 La Ligas in a row, and 2 UCLs within those 3 years also.

I'm not going to get into United, but all you have to do is look at the season United had after Fergie left to know what that man did with a pretty average bunch of footballers was nothing short of spectacularly special.

[LFC1892]

I understand your point mate. However the competition was poorer back then. Where was Atletico Madrid and the other Spanish teams. The condition of La Liga is on completely different level now.

You are right about Fergie although as a Liverpool supporter I didn't like his methods with the refs. When did he retire? In 2013 I think. Most of his players (especially in defense) were very old and the team needed a change. United in 2008/9 had great talanted players.