The Italians were not in this competition from the start. They dropped down from the Champions League following a disastrous group run.
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Nantes will be hoping to cause a major upset when they welcome fallen Italian giants Juventus to the Stade de la Beaujoire for the second leg of the Europa League playoff tie. The Thursday night fixture will be difficult to call for obvious reasons following the 1-1 draw in the reverse leg. The Old Lady have the superior squad quality and depth over their opponents. Besides, Juventus have the experience of doing well in big European nights. However, their form this season has not been encouraging hence the home side will fancy themselves to cause an upset in this game.
Juventus’ below-par campaign suffered a big-blow when they were deducted 15 points due to alleged financial irregularities not so long ago. As a result, they are well behind in the race to finish in the top four positions. Besides, the Italians were not in this competition from the start. They dropped down from the Champions League following a disastrous group run. Placed in Group H, Max Allegri’s side lost five matches and could only manage three points from six games to finish third in the table.
Read More – Nantes vs Juventus: Europa League Live Stream, Form Guide, Head to Head, Schedule, Fixture and Probable Lineups
On the other hand, Nantes have done well to be make life difficult for any team in Ligue 1, particularly at their home. However, inconsistency has been their biggest problem. They were unable to build on their impressive draw at Turin in midweek and lost to Lens 3-1 in the French league at the weekend. Overall, Nantes have 28 points from 24 matches to be sitting 13th in Ligue 1. On the other hand, Juventus have 32 points from 23 games to be placed seventh in Serie A.
Nantes and Juventus do not have a rich history between them. They have hardly played against each other in the past, with very few matches happening between them over the years. Juventus have normally been a mainstay in the Champions League, hence it makes sense that they have not come up against each other on many occasions. However, there have still been some interesting battles that has taken place between them.
A total of three official games have only happened between these two sides. One of them was a two-legged Champions League semi-final tie in 1996. Juventus had comfortably won the first leg at home 2-0. However, Nantes put up a terrific fightback in the second leg to win it 3-2 in their own backyard. The Italian giants, however, narrowly edged the tie to win it 4-3 before going all the way to clinch the Champions League crown that year.
| Key Details | Stats |
|---|---|
| Total matches | 3 |
| Nantes won | 1 |
| Juventus won | 1 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Total Nantes goals | 4 |
| Total Juventus goals | 5 |
| Biggest Nantes win | 3-2 (1996) |
| Biggest Juventus win | 2-0 (1996) |
| Matches | Score |
| Juventus draw Nantes | 1-1 |
| Nantes beat Juventus | 3-2 |
| Juventus beat Nantes | 2-0 |
