Chelsea vs Juventus is another of the Italy – England match-ups of the first leg of the 2009 UEFA Champions league. My match results prediction of their encounter is somewhat tainted with bias as I am a Chelsea fan. And I am not a fan of Claudio Raniere, the manager who used to lead the British club to some heights in 2004, and was replaced by Jose Mourinho, because he did not win a title. A semis in the 2004 edition and a runner up finish at Barclay’s were not enough to satisfy Roman Abramovich, the new Chelsea owner at that time.

So we expect Juventus to rally behind their coach and exact revenge on his former club. The old lady of Italian football is not really a weak team. They are currently in second place behind Mourinho’s Internazionale. They used to lord the Italian Serie A before they were penalized for game-fixing. They were thrown into the dungeons of the second-tier league but were able to fight back for their place at the top flight. Now they are back in fighting form.

And what do we expect from Chelsea who has now its third manager since last year’s finals? Guus Hiddink could be their savior. Or could it be the resurrected Anelka who is currently the premier league’s leading scorer? The old guards of the Blues are still there. Maybe they’re not as enthusiastic as we’ve seen before. John Terry, Frank Lampard, Deco, Didier Drogba, Andrei Schevchenko, Michael Ballack and other great players makes Chelsea a very strong force to reckon with.

First Leg

The two will clash at the Stamford Bridge on February 25, 2009. I expect a thrashing for the visiting team. With Chelsea coming off from a win away over Aston Villa this evening of Hiddink’s club debut, they’re fired up to toast their opponent come Wednesday.

My Prediction: 2-0 Chelsea wins (Actual result:  1-0 win by Chelsea on a Drogba goal.  It could have been more)

Second Leg

Chelsea will travel to Turin on March 10 and face Italy’s most successful club. Honestly, I am not confident of the premiership side’s away chances. Juve is strong in its own backyard, and held by its super goalie, Gianluigi Buffon.

My Prediction: Juve win 2-0.

So my prediction for their match will result to a penalty shoot-out. Though Juve has the world’s best goalie, Peter Cech of Chelsea is not that far behind. John Terry will redeem himself and carry his team to victory and proceed to the quarterfinals.

Actual result: Chelsea 2 – Juventus 2. Chelsea progressed winning 3-2 in aggregate.

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