The Italian side have dropped down from the Champions League following a disastrous group stage campaign.
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Juventus will hope for better fortunes in the Europa League when they play host to Nantes in the first leg of the playoff round tie on Thursday night. The Italian side have dropped down from the Champions League following a disastrous group stage campaign. Placed in Group H, Max Allegri’s side lost five matches and could manage only three points from six games to finish third in the table. Having dropped to the Europa League, the Old Lady will hope to have a better European campaign in the second part of the season.
However, to achieve that Juventus must overcome their domestic woes first. They are on a poor run of form in Serie A. They were not in the best of form even before being deducted 15 points due to financial irregularities. The possibility of Juventus finishing in the top four positions to secure Champions League seems extremely slim. Hence, Europa League presents a good opportunity for them, since the winners of this competition will get a direct ticket to the Europe’s elite tournament.
Meanwhile, Nantes have done well in recent game to move into mid-table positions. They are on a two-game winning run in Ligue 1. The French side have 28 points from 23 games to be sitting 13th in their league. On the other hand, Juventus are occupying the ninth spot in Serie A, having managed 29 points from 22 matches. The Old Lady are also on a two-game winning run in the league, which they would hope to carry forward to the Europa League as well.
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There are set to be some big-name absentees in this contest. Juventus will be without their striker Arkadiusz Milik for this tie. Fabio Miretti will join him on the sidelines, while Paul Pogba will also continue to be out of action. However, on a positive front they will welcome back skipper Leonardo Bonucci and Federico Chiesa to the squad. Juan Cuadrado could also make a return from his illness. On the other hand, Nantes will be without Nicolas Pallois and Quentin Merlin for this game. They will also be sweating over the fitness situation of Moses Simon.
Juventus possible line-up: Szczesny, Danilo, Bremer, Sandro, Cuadrado, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Di Maria, Chiesa, Vlahovic
Nantes possible line-up: Lafont, Centonze, Girotto, Castelletto, Hadjam, Sissoko, Moutoussamy, Blas, Mollett, Ganago, Delort
Juventus
| Opponents | Score |
| Fiorentina | 1-0 (W) |
| Salernitana | 0-3 (W) |
| Lazio | 1-0 (W) |
| Monza | 0-2 (L) |
| Atalanta | 3-3 |
Nantes
| Opponents | Score |
| Lorient | 1-0 (W) |
| Angers | 1-2 (W) |
| Ajaccio | 0-2 (W) |
| Marseille | 0-2 (L) |
| Clermont | 0-0 |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Nantes beat Juventus | 3-2 |
| Juventus beat Nantes | 2-0 |
The UEFA Europa League match between Juventus and Nantes will take place at Juventus Stadium on Friday at 1:30 am IST.
For football fans in India, live coverage of the UEFA Europa League matches will be available on the Sony Sports network. Besides, fans can also live stream the matches via Jio TV. Meanwhile, those in France can catch the live action between Juventus and Nantes on Molotov, Canal+ Foot, W9, Free; and SKY Go Italia, NOW TV, DAZN, Sky Sport Uno, TV8, Sky Sport 252, Sky Sport 4K in Italy.
