Back this 15/4 Juventus vs Benfica single

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Written by: Brad Walker

Juventus play host to Benfica with narrow hopes of securing a spot in the Champions League's automatic qualification spots.

Visitors Benfica also harbour their own qualification ambitions and know a win will cement a place in the play-off round. 

Odds Now's Brad Walker (@brad_TWalker) runs you through the match-up to find the best value from a punting perspective. 

Juventus haven't exactly inspired so far in Europe, winning only three of their seven matches so far. 

In fairness, three of those games finished level and a bulk of their success has came on home turf, where two of their three wins took place. 

Meanwhile, Benfica have endured something of a mixed bag in form during this competition. 

Like Juventus, only three of their seven games have ended in victory, though they head to Turin having already lost on three occasions.

Juventus to edge a tight encounter in Turin

To say Juventus' games tend to be tight would be an understatement. 

Their remarkable amount of draws has been well-documented - 13 of Juventus' 22 matches have finished level - meaning they remain in fifth position in Serie A, despite having only lost once. 

The Old Lady's league games have also averaged a mere 2.45 goals in total and 12 have seen under 2.5 scored. 

It's been a similar story in Europe. 

Juventus' Champions League matches have averaged two goals in total, with five of the seven games seeing under 2.5. 

Meanwhile, they welcome a Benfica side who have averaged two goals scored in this competition, but nine of their 14 goals have been scored at home. 

Bruno Lage's men haven't been as free-scoring on away soil and have also been leaky at the back overall, having averaged 1.71 conceded regardless of the venue. 

Benfica are also yet to register a clean sheet away from home in Europe. 

Add the hosts' incredibly well-balanced approach to the mix and edging in favour of the Juventus win starts to make sense. 

Thiago Motta's side are performing well in both attacking and defensive quarters, averaging 1.67 scored and 0.67 shipped at home. 

They've also lost only two of their last 16 at the Allianz Arena and so, combined with the low-scoring patterns which ever-present throughout their games, the Juventus win with under 2.5 scored looks an astute pick.

Brad Walker's Juventus vs Benfica best bet

    Meet the Author

    Brad Walker


    Sports Writer

    Brad has been working in the sports media sphere for almost three years now and is an ardent supporter of Liverpool FC, as well as a huge lover of boxing.

    Having recently graduated with a Sports Journalism MA from Liverpool John Moores University, Brad has conducted interviews with several stars of the fight game including Eddie Hearn, George Groves and Derek Chisora.

    When he’s not writing about sports, he’s usually watching back old tape of his favourite fighters Terence Crawford, Naoya Inoue and Marvin Hagler.