Juventus v Real Madrid preview
Monday, May 4, 2015
Article summary
Real Madrid CF are slight favourites but Juventus will not make it easy for them was the message amid mutual respect in Turin – even if Carlo Ancelotti was left feeling old.
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Article body
• Carlo Ancelotti: "If you have courage you win, if you have fear you lose"
• Massimiliano Allegri confirms that Juve will start with four at the back
• Holders in semis for fifth season in a row; they have won only one of the previous four
• Madrid have won eight of their last nine games, drawing the other
• New Italian champions in semis for first time since beating Madrid in 2003
Possible lineups
Juventus: Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, Evra; Marchisio, Pirlo, Vidal; Pereyra; Morata, Tévez.
• Out: Asamoah (knee), Cáceres (ankle), Marrone (thigh), Pogba (hamstring), Rômulo (groin)
Real Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo; James, Kroos, Ramos, Isco; Bale, Ronaldo.
• Out: Modrić (knee), Benzema (knee)
Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus coach
It's a semi-final, they are champions of Europe so compared with us they could have a slightly better chance; but it's not a semi-final where you can say we've got nothing to lose – we can lose the chance of being in the final. We've got to remember what we've done so far, that we have a chance, while not forgetting that we're up against very strong opponents.
In games like these you've got to aim if not to play a perfect game, then certainly to do fantastic things in attack and defence. I don't think Juve against Real and Real against Juve will both finish 0-0, so we've got to do particularly well in attack. It would have been better if [Luka] Modrić and [Paul] Pogba were involved. We hope to have Pogba back for the return leg.
All that matters in football are results. At the start of the season a lot is said, but at the end of the season all that remains are results. We've had some pretty good results and I'm delighted and proud.
Carlo Ancelotti, Madrid coach
It's going to be an even game. We had a lot of possession against Atlético [in the quarters] but like us, Juve are a side who like a lot of possession. The most important thing is to play the best we can and show our quality. We want to attack and we're preparing to play an attacking game, but we're going to have to defend really well too.
Juventus have always had a strong, competitive team so it's hard to win here. That said, we want to realise a dream by playing another final after winning the Champions League last year. There are 180 minutes between us and achieving that goal. If you have courage you win, if you have fear you lose.
At the moment we're in good form. We had a bit of a problem in January and February but the players are confident. We had some injuries but we are able to cover them really well. We are confident we can get to another final.
Juve won the league on Saturday and are full of confidence, with experienced players and real quality. They are one of the few sides who have no problem switching between three and four defenders. Pirlo is a great, fantastic player. I read today that he considers me as a father; I consider him a brother!
Weekend results
Sevilla FC 2-3 Real Madrid (Bacca 45+2pen, Iborra 79; Ronaldo 36 37 68)
UC Sampdoria 0-1 Juventus (Vidal 32)
Match fact
• How many European Cup finals have Juventus and Real Madrid appeared in between them? Find out in our extensive match background.
You can listen to the game on Matchday Live via the UEFA.com MatchCentre or on the updated version of the official UEFA.com app from 19.30CET