Berlin beckons for Barcelona and Juventus, as they contest the 2015 UEFA Champions League final this Saturday. Barca will enter the match as substantial -200 favorites to claim their fifth ever European Cup, and with Lionel Messi in sparkling form, it’s hard to make the case against them winning.
What do some of soccer’s foremost experts think about the big game in Germany? Let’s find out, as we look at their picks and predictions for the Champions League final. For our complete preview of the match, click here.
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Juventus vs. Barcelona UEFA Champions League Final Experts Predictions
Bleacher Report
Expert
Prediction
Matt Jones
Barcelona, 2-1
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Bleacher Report featured columnist Matt Jones is going with Barcelona to lift their fifth European Cup. Jones believes that Barca are a more complete team than the Italian champions. He’s a fan of Ivan Rakitic, whose addition has solidified the Barca midfield, as well as the defense which kept 23 clean sheets in La Liga this season.
But Jones fancies Juve to breach that defense with the lethal strike partnership of Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata. The Italians’ star-studded midfield of Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal and the returning Paul Pogba will also give the Spanish champs some problems.
In the end, though, Jones believes the team with the most game-changers will win. With Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, Barca have three of the very best game-changers in their corner, and that world-class attacking trio will deliver in the final.
International Business Times
Expert
Prediction
Jason Le Miere
Barcelona, 2-1
Like Jones, the IBTimes’ Jason Le Miere has also gone with Barcelona in the final, with the same 2-1 score line.
Le Miere praised first-year manager Massimiliano Allegri’s ability to achieve success in Europe, which was the shortcoming of former manager Antonio Conte. Allegri has gotten his tactics right throughout the knockout rounds, and Le Miere notes that Juve’s semifinal victory over the Galacticos of Real Madrid was the triumph of “a true team rather than a collection of individuals.”
But Le Miere believes that Barcelona’s trio of out-of-this-world individuals is enough to take down Juve’s defensive organization. They were certainly more than enough to breeze past Bayern Munich with a 3-0 first leg home win. Messi’s brilliance on that night was a stark reminder of how Barca can beat just about any team with a quick moment of magic.
Create a betting account now and wager on the Champions League final, where a quick moment of magic could make you quite a bit of money.
ESPN FC
Experts
Prediction
Alejandro Moreno
Barcelona
Shaka Hislop
Barcelona
ESPN FC television pundits Alejandro Moreno and Shaka Hislop didn’t mince their words when they backed Barcelona to prevail in Berlin. Moreno notes that Barca, fresh off their Copa del Rey win where Messi produced another moment of magic, are simply playing at a tremendous level at the moment.
Meanwhile, Hislop goes so far as to say Messi, a four-time FIFA World Player of the Year winner, has never played better. He goes on to say that the Messi-Suarez-Neymar frontline is maybe the best attacking force the world has seen for quite some time.
Moreno drew up what he believed was the blueprint to bring down Barca, which is to attack and put pressure on them. Tevez, who has a team-leading seven Champions League goals, will certainly do his best to press and close down the Barca defenders.
But even with a defense headed by legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and experienced defenders in Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, Moreno doesn’t think Juve are equipped with the sort of players to implement such a gameplan without getting burned by Barca’s terrific trio.
