Barca have another mountain to climb

Published on April 18th, 2017 5:30 pm EST
Written By: Cian Murray
This is getting all too familiar for Barcelona; stepping into the second leg of a Champions League tie with an almost impossible mountain to climb.

Of course, they made it up that steep ascent in what seemed like an undoable challenge against PSG. This game against Juventus is set to be even tougher, because Italian sides know how to defend against the best of them and Juve's 3-0 victory from the first game was far from a fluke.

In fact, Barca was lucky that the scoreline remained at what it did. Not only that, but the Italian side have now been warned about Barcelona's tendency to achieve the almost impossible.

You wouldn't be crazy to back Barcelona to win the game at 8/15, but it does take a serious stretch in the imagination to see them qualifying. That is priced at around 5/1.

The draw, which would see Juventus qualify, is priced at an enticing 15/4. Anybody who watched that first leg saw just how impressive the Serie A team were. They were a class above their Spanish counterparts in every single facet of the game.

Thus, backing an away win at 9/2 doesn't seem all that mad to us. If you'd prefer to play it safe, you can back Juventus to qualify for the semi-final and the short price of 1/7.

Paulo Dybala was The Old Lady's hero from the first game, scoring a brace and inspiring his team to a three goal victory. He is priced at 9/1 to get the first goal here and this seems like a generous price, considering the fact that Barcelona are vulnerable on the counter attack.

If you are a brave gambler, you can back Giorgio Chiellini to make it two goals in two Champions League games. The Italian legend is priced at 45/1 to score the first.

Neymar was Barcelona's inspiration in their comeback against PSG and he is at 6/1 to get the first goal here. Meanwhile, Luis Suarez will be keen to atone for some anonymous performances in this tournament this season. He is priced at 18/5 to get the first.

It's hard to ignore Lionel Messi when discussing the first goalscorer market. The Argentinian wizard is the favourite to get the opener, priced at 16/5.

Our money is on former Real Madrid man, Gonzalo Higuain to get the first for the Italian giants. He will relish playing against his old enemy and we expect him to seize the occasion.

Barcelona has had a few escapes so far this season, but we think that the Catalans have used up all of their lives. This one is Juventus' to lose.