Juventus look to place a stranglehold on the second qualification spot in Champions League Group G on Tuesday as they entertain rank outsiders Ferencvaros at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.
The perennial Italian champions have six points in the section - three of them from a 4-1 success in the return fixture last time out - when Alvaro Morata scored twice to establish a five-point cushion in second place, behind Barcelona.
Serhiy Rebrov's Ferencvaros, meanwhile, have accrued just one point so far - level with Dynamo Kiev at the halfway stage.
Match preview
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Juve's previous home game in Europe ended in a comprehensive 2-0 loss against Barcelona, in which they were summarily dismissed by Ronald Koeman's side. Either side of that rare home defeat, they won away at Dynamo Kiev and in Budapest against Tuesday's visitors, with red-hot Morata bagging a brace in each game, making him the joint-leading scorer in the competition so far.
It was the Spanish striker who stepped up to the plate in the recent absence of main man Cristiano Ronaldo, but the ageless Portuguese superstar seamlessly returned to his leading role before the break. In his first home game since the opening round of the season, Ronaldo struck a double of his own on Sunday to help see off an improving Cagliari side 2-0 - lifting his side to within a point of leaders Milan.
A sense of forward momentum is now building in Andrea Pirlo's squad after too many points were squandered through draws in the season's opening throes. Attention can therefore turn to securing their place in the knockout stages of Europe's elite competition.
Champions of Italy for a record ninth season in a row in 2019-20 - and 36th time in all - this is the Bianconeri's 21st Champions League campaign and they have reached the last 16 in 17 of those seasons - winning their group 13 times.
Though topping the group may ultimately prove out of their reach this time given Barcelona's flawless start, rookie coach Pirlo must now secure safe passage as he patiently establishes his new regime.
With that in mind, another comfortable win against limited opponents is rightfully expected on Tuesday night.
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Ferencvaros conceded five goals in their only Group G away game to date, going down 5-1 at Camp Nou in their first game in the Champions League proper since 1995. They subsequently drew 2-2 at home to Dynamo - a match in which they trailed by two goals before stealing a late point thanks to Ivorian forward Franck Boli's 90th minute leveller - before eventually losing heavily at home to Juve.
Former Champions League star Rebrov's side are the first Hungarian club to feature in the group phase since Debrecen over a decade ago, highlighting the scale of their achievement in even reaching this stage.
Only two members of the Fradi squad had ever featured in the Champions League before this season - Slovak striker Robert Mak (with two appearances for Zenit last year) and Oleksandr Zubkov (one for Shakhtar Donetsk three years ago).
The back-to-back Hungarian champions were, in fact, unbeaten in nine consecutive European away matches - albeit mostly at a lower level - before losing heavily in Catalonia last month, but the mammoth task ahead of them in Piedmont this week is exciting and intimidating in equal measure.
Ferencvaros are unbeaten in the league this season and losses against continental mega-clubs Barcelona and Juve represent their only defeats in all competitions - their 2020-21 record otherwise is 12 wins, five draws.
On Saturday, their league clash with a grand old name of European football's past, Honved, ended in a 1-0 win away to their capital city rivals after German midfielder Marcel Heister's explosive first-half goal - a scintillating strike worthy of winning any game worldwide.
That hard-fought derby victory will be just the lift needed by Rebrov's charges if they are to produce an improbable result at the home of the Old Lady of Turin this week.
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The feel-good factor has continued to grow for several of the side after a successful spell on international duty, which ended on a high for Fradi players Endre Botka, Gergo Lovrencsics and David Siger, who helped Hungary to a playoff final win against Iceland to earn a cherished place at the Euros.
Siger also opened the scoring against Turkey in the Nations League, with his first international goal helping the buoyant national team earn promotion to League A.
Undoubtedly, Hungarian football continues its rise from the doldrums but it may be some time yet before its most prominent club can achieve further progress in the rarefied surrounds of the Champions League.
Juventus Champions League form: WLW
Juventus form (all competitions): DLWWDW
Ferencvaros Champions League form: LDL
Ferencvaros form (all competitions): DDLWWW
Team News
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Injured Leonardo Bonucci withdrew from the Italy squad for the recent Nations League games and remains out for Juventus, while both Federico Chiesa and Giorgio Chiellini pulled out of the game against Lazio and Italy's internationals with thigh injuries. Chiesa, though, returned from the bench on Saturday.
Aaron Ramsey has not played since the game in Budapest, also due to a thigh problem, and is not yet ready to return.
Defender Matthijs de Ligt was sidelined since undergoing surgery on his right shoulder in August but resumed full contact training before the break and started in Serie A. Left-back Alex Sandro also returned to Andrea Pirlo's squad after recovering from an injury suffered in mid-September and could feature on Tuesday.
Paulo Dybala missed international duty with Argentina due to an infection but was on the bench against Cagliari and will contend with Morata for a start.
Last time, Ferencvaros effectively mirrored Juve's 4-3-3 formation but Serhiy Rebrov may be more tempted to revert to a 4-1-4-1 setup away from home.
National team heroes Siger, Lovrencsics and Botka are all set to feature, with Norwegian forward Tokmac Nguen supporting lone striker Franck Boli from out wide. Itinerant midfielder Marcel Heister will expect a start after his blockbuster strike in the Budapest derby but must vie with Brazilian veteran Somalia for an engine room slot.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Cuadrado, Demiral, De Ligt, Danilo; Chiesa, Bentancur, McKennie, Bernardeschi; Morata, Ronaldo
Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Lovrencsics, Blazic, Dvali, Botka; Kharatin; Heister, Siger, Uzuni, Nguen; Boli
We say: Juventus 3-0 Ferencvaros
Progress towards the knockout rounds is likely to be serene for the hosts, as they have their star man back in action and have begun to accrue a more consistent run of results, winning three of their last four outings.
Though Ferencvaros are a welcome addition to the Champions League scene after many years of absence, their Group G defensive record so far has been atrocious - 11 goals conceded in their first 3 games.
Expect Juve to add further to that total in Turin, with another comprehensive win on the cards.
Top betting tip
Jonathan O'Shea
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Juventus win with a probability of 65.86%. A draw had a probability of 24.8% and a win for Ferencvaros had a probability of 9.37%.
The most likely scoreline for a Juventus win was 1-0 with a probability of 22.14%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (17%) and 3-0 (8.7%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 0-0 (14.42%), while for a Ferencvaros win it was 0-1 (5.78%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 6.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Juventus would win this match.
