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Dynamo Kyiv vs Juventus: Ronaldo-less Bianconeri still enough

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Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be present when his side kick-start their European journey, but it is unlikely that Juventus will feel his absence.

Andrea Pirlo himself probably was taken aback upon receiving the Juventus appointment letter prior to the start of this season.

It was expected that the managerial reins of Juve would be too heavy for an inexperienced Pirlo to hold, but he proved his critics wrong – overseeing a 3-0 win in the opening game of this Serie A season.

The Italian tactician will now be hoping that he oversees a similar outcome on his first European game in charge.

Juve pay a visit to Dynamo Kyiv at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex for the Champions League group stage opener on Tuesday night.

Dynamo Kyiv vs Juventus Form:

The home side will come into the match with their morale lifted as they recorded a comfortable 2-0 win over the weekend. They also boast an unbeaten record so far this season, winning seven and drawing the remaining two of their matches across all competitions.

Some nervousness could be witnessed from the Ukrainian Premier League side as they are making their first appearance in the competition since 2016.

The visitors, on the other hand, will be coming on the back of a sluggish performance – a 1-1 league draw against Crotone. However, they are also enjoying an unbeaten streak so far (P4 W2 D2).

Dynamo Kyiv vs Juventus Head-to-head:

Tuesday night will see the two sides go head to head for the first time in almost two decades.

The Ukrainian outfit have failed to taste success in each of the four encounters with the Italian champions, having lost three and drawn one.

Dynamo Kyiv vs Juventus Team News:

Mircea Lucescu will be a happy man when making team selection as each of his players are fit and available to play.

Pirlo, however, does not share the same luxury. Cristiano Ronaldo, who is spending time in quarantine after contracting COVID-19, will be the biggest name missing from the match.

Weston McKennie (self-isolation), Matthijs de Ligt, and Aaron Ramsey (both injured) are also unavailable. Alex Sandro, meanwhile, is doubtful.

Predicted line-ups:

Dynamo Kyiv vs Juventus Betting Tips:

Juve are expected to win. However, their away record is not a very attractive one. That coupled with the fact that they will be missing their best goalscorer for the past two seasons, they are priced at just 1.95 to win.

As intimidating a task is replacing Ronaldo, someone will have to step-up in his absence – and Alvaro Morata is expected to be that man. Morata scored on his debut and is backed at 3.0 to find the back of the net again.

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