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Juventus will welcome Porto to Turin on Tuesday for the second leg of their 2020-21 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie.
The Portuguese champions hold the aggregate advantage against Juventus in this tie; early goals in each half from Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega had given them a 2-0 lead before Federico Chiesa halved the arrears with a late strike.
Juventus have not triumphed in the Champions League since 1997, a reason why they broke the bank to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018. However, the Serie A champions have faltered twice in the competition with Ronaldo, first falling to Ajax in the 2019 quarter-finals before they endured a shock elimination against Lyon in the Round of 16 last year.
The Bianconeri will be desperate to avoid a third consecutive skid in the competition, especially considering their domestic struggles this campaign.
On that note, let's take a look at five reasons why Juventus could stage a comeback against Porto and advance to the 2020-21 Champions League quarter-finals.
#5 Juventus' away goal gives them a huge advantage
Federico Chiesa's goal eight minutes from time in the first leg in Porto could be a game-changer for Juventus in this tie.
Had the Italy international not scored, Andrea Pirlo's side would have needed to score three unanswered goals in Turin to progress; considering their indifferent form this season, that could have been an arduous task for Juventus. In essence, they would have been facing the real possibility of elimination from the Champions League in the Round of 16 stage in consecutive seasons.
However, their priceless away goal gives them an advantage. Juventus simply need to secure a two-goal victory or avoid a victory by a one-goal margin if Porto score in Turin. A 1-0 victory would do the job for Juventus
With Cristiano Ronaldo leading the line, Juventus will fancy their chances of scoring more than two goals on home soil. If their defence can come up on top, Juventus could progress to the next round of this season's Champions League with minimum fuss.
#4 Juventus have more experienced players on this stage than Porto
A glance at the Juventus team list shows that while a lot of players are relatively young and untested, the youngsters are well complemented by battle-hardened veterans who have the requisite know-how to contest on this stage.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata, Giorgio Chiellini, Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Alvaro Morata and Alex Sandro, among others, all know what it takes to get the job done in situations like this.
While Porto might also have their own fair share of experienced players, the gulf in big-game pedigree between the two sides is all too apparent.
That is a huge reason why Juventus are expected to overcome the Porto challenge on home turf.
#3 Juventus would have learned their lessons from past mistakes
As already mentioned before, Olympique Lyon eliminated Juventus in the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League last season.
The Ligue 1 outfit had posted a 1-0 win on home turf in the first leg and went on to secure progress to the quarter-final by virtue of their away goal despite going down 1-2 in Italy.
A season before that, Ajax had knocked Juventus out with a 2-1 victory in Turin after drawing the first leg 1-1 at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Those two games were fixtures that were relatively straightforward on paper, but Juventus shot themselves in the foot by not getting the job done.
Against Lyon, a failure to score an away goal cost them dearly, while a porous backline was duly punished by a youthful and vibrant Ajax team a year earlier.
Juventus have already secured an away goal to give themselves an edge going into this second leg. After suffering shock eliminations in the recent past, Juventus could be desperate to not let history repeat itself and be the third-time unlucky.
#2 Porto's recent form is not too impressive
While Porto might be the defending champions in the Primeira Liga, the Dragons are doing a poor job of retaining their title.
They come into this clash in indifferent form, having won just three of their last nine games in all competitions.
This poor form has seen Sporting Lisbon run away with the league title, while Porto also got eliminated at the semi-final stage of the Portuguese Cup by Braga.
Considering Porto's poor run of form, they are very much there for the taking, and Juventus will fancy their chances of getting the job done on home turf against the Portuguese champions
#1 The Cristiano Ronaldo factor
Cristiano Ronaldo is called 'Mr Champions League' for a reason. He has created a long-standing legacy as arguably the biggest big-game player in the history of the competition.
The Madeira native has a penchant of stepping up to the plate when his team needs him the most. Both Real Madrid as well as Juventus have benefitted immensely from his otherworldly abilities.
In many ways, Cristiano Ronaldo lives for seemingly impossible situations. and the more unlikely a scenario, the higher the chances that the Portugal international will turn the tide in his side's favour.
Despite turning 36 in February, Cristiano Ronaldo still has it in him to almost single-handedly decide marquee Champions League games. His list of scalps on the continent include the likes of Atletico Madrid, Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich and even Juventus themselves.
While Porto might have won the battle in Portugal last month, Juventus will fancy their chances of winning the war. For that, they will be counting on their on-field general Cristiano Ronaldo to fire them all the way to glory.
