Zenit vs Juventus
UEFA Champions League
Date: Wednesday, 20 October 2021
Kick-off at 20:00 UK / 21:00 CET
Venue: Stamford Bridge.
Zenit have shown decent defensive displays so far in the Champions League, shipping only a single goal in two matches against Chelsea and Zenit.
Juventus are yet to concede and we must mention that they have tightened things up defensively of late. We could thus likely be in for a low-scoring contest on Wednesday night in Russia.
Zenit vs Juventus Head-to-head
- Zenit and Juventus were drawn to the same Champions League group 13 years ago (interestingly, it was also Group H).
- Only one goal was scored in their two head to head matches on the occasion.
- It came in Juventus’ narrow 1-0 victory in Turin.
- The return clash in Russia ended without goals.
Zenit vs Juventus Predictions & Analysis
Zenit host Juventus in a highly important third round fixture in Group H. The Russians bounced back from the inaugural defeat to Chelsea in some style, bagging four unanswered goals past Malmo last time out.
They have thus gained the much-needed confidence ahead of a very important double-header against Juventus. Zenit’s win would massively complicate things in this group as we could easily have three sides locked on six points after three rounds of the competition.
Of course, the Italian heavyweights are huge favorites here, but they will need to dig deep to secure the spoils on a cold night in Russia.
The hosts are the dominant team in their country. They’ve easily lifted the Premier League trophy last season and they hold the very top of the standings after eleven rounds of the 2021/22 campaign despite losing two in a row in the competition.
The head coach Sergei Semak has reasons to be worried ahead of Juventus’ visit knowing that his troops have just suffered back-to-back defeats to the likes of Sochi and Arsenal Tula (1-2 each).
On the other side, Zenit have shown a stunning display in the 4-0 drubbing of Malmo in the second round and that performance can be their driving force in this tie against Juventus.
Unlike the hosts, the Italians made a slow start and then turned things around later on. Massimiliano Allegri’s men are currently on a streak of five subsequent victories in all competitions.
However, each of their last three victories came with an identical 1-0 scoreline (against Chelsea, Torino, and Roma).
- Key Stats for Betting
- Zenit shipped only one goal in two Champions League games so far.
- They held Chelsea at bay all up until a late Romelu Lukaku goal at Stamford Bridge.
- Juventus kept three successive clean sheets in all competitions and they are yet to concede in the Champions League.
- They played three consecutive games with an identical 1-0 scoreline.