Turin is home for the first leg of Juventus and Real Madrid in a Champions League semifinal. Two of the most illustrious teams in European soccer look to take the first step toward the final in Berlin with Juventus hoping to avoid a road-goal deficit. Juventus clinched the Serie A title this past weekend while Real Madrid are still chasing in La Liga. A singular focus may help Juventus, but they will still enter the tie as the underdog.

Massimiliano Allegri‘s Juventus team got a tough victory over the weekend to secure their fourth straight domestic title and now have to change their focus to keeping the holders off the board on Tuesday. Allegri told the media “it’ll be expected” if his team does not reach the final. If Juventus can make the final it will be the first time since 2003 when they beat Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate in the semis.

The star-studded Real Madrid lineup will be without Karim Benzema once again. Gareth Bale returned from a calf injury to play 30 minutes over the weekend to bolster the lineup for the Champions League match. Juventus will have their hands full defensively and have a recent memory of what Real Madrid can do. Cristiano Ronaldo scored three goals against Juventus in last year’s group stage.

Real Madrid have won eight of 11 away matches in this season’s Champions League. They have drawn on their last three trips to Italy with their overall record against Serie A competition at 4-8-17. Juventus are unbeaten in 12 home matches in UEFA competition and have won four of five at home during this campaign. Overall they are 10-6-1 in European competition in the refurbished Juventus Stadium.

Paul Pogba‘s absence from the Juventus lineup will have more impact on the match than the Benzema absence. The Italian side will try to play this match tight and keep Real Madrid off the scoreboard in the away leg. However, Real Madrid come in as winners of eight of the last nine games, including this past weekend over Sevilla when Ronaldo scored his 25th La Liga hat trick.

Juventus will need at least a 2-0 win to make opinions change on this tie. Hoping the counter attack will provide that result will likely result in a deficit, so the Italian side must maintain at least half of the possession and be physical on the ball.

Prediction: Juventus 2 – 2 Real Madrid

Douglas Smith is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DFresh39, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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