Juventus vs Sporting CP Europa League quarter-final first leg preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, predicted line-ups
Thursday, April 13, 2023
Article summary
When is it? How can you watch it? What are the possible line-ups? All you need to know about the UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg between Juventus and Sporting CP.
Article top media content
Article body
Juventus and Sporting CP meet in their UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday 13 April.
Juventus vs Sporting CP at a glance
When: Thursday 13 April (21:00 CET kick-off)
Where: Juventus Stadium, Turin
What: UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage can be found here
Winners face Man United or Sevilla in the semi-finals, playing the home leg first
Where to watch Juventus vs Sporting CP on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Europa League broadcast partner(s) here.
What do you need to know?
Both sides started the season in the UEFA Champions League, and they have former players in common (Paulo Sousa, Alberto Aquilani, etc), while current Sporting CP goalkeeper Franco Israel is a graduate of the Juve academy. The teams have also met before, in the 2017/18 Champions League group stage, when Massimiliano Allegri's Juve won 2-1 in Turin and then drew 1-1 in the return fixture in Lisbon.
Juventus have already lost at home to a Lisbon side this season, Benfica leaving Turin with a 2-1 success in the Champions League group stage despite going 1-0 down in the first five minutes. However, Italy has not been a happy destination historically for the Lions: they have yet to win in 14 UEFA competition away games on Italian soil (D3 L11).
Possible line-ups
Juventus: Szczęsny; Danilo, Bremer, Alex Sandro; Cuadrado, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostić; Di María; Vlahović
Misses next match if booked: Danilo, Miretti, Bremer
Sporting CP: Adán; St. Juste, Coates, Gonçalo Inácio; Ricardo Esgaio, Morita, Pedro Gonçalves, Matheus Reis; Francisco Trincão, Edwards, Nuno Santos
Misses next match if booked: Ricardo Esgaio, Matheus Reis
Form guide
Juventus
Form (all competitions, most recent first): LDWWWW
Where they stand: 7th in Italian Serie A
Sporting CP
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WDWWWD
Where they stand: 4th in Portuguese Liga
Expert predictions
Fabio Balaudo, Juventus reporter
The strength upon which Juventus have staked their fortunes in 2023 is defensive solidity. The Old Lady have collected seven 1-0 wins in all competitions since January, and going behind against the Bianconeri generally means losing the game. They are not always spectacular but tend to be effective. Sporting CP can consider themselves warned.
Carlos Machado, Sporting CP reporter
A confident Sporting will begin this tie with the comfort of being the underdogs. As against Arsenal, the Lions have nothing to lose. Pedro Gonçalves, in great form, looks set to be deployed in midfield as the suspended Manuel Ugarte cannot partner Hidemasa Morita in the middle. Fresh from a weekend hat-trick, meanwhile, Francisco Trincão is perhaps enjoying his best period since he joined the club.
View from the camps
Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus coach: "It's too early to talk about playing in a final. There are four games left. Let's think about the next one and continue step by step.."
Rúben Amorim, Sporting CP coach: "We can win any game or lose against any team. If we [take the shoot-out win at Arsenal] as a starting point, we are on the right path. The league is our priority, but when the Europa League comes around, we will see what happens."
Where is the 2023 Europa League final?
Budapest's Puskás Aréna will host the final on 31 May 2023.
The winners gain a place in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.