Sports betting: Juventus ready to atone

Juventus ready to atone

THEY somehow managed to lose 3-1 to Borussia Dortmund 12 months ago, but Juventus should make no mistake against Real Madrid in this year's European Cup final in Amsterdam on Wednesday.

After they made a slow start to their Serie A campaign and struggled to qualify for the quarter-finals in the Champions' League, some of us were foolishly speculating that the Italian giants might be slipping into decline.

Since Christmas Juventus have been brilliant. They have repelled challenges from Udinese, Internazionale and Lazio to retain their Serie A title and have proved a revelation in the knockout stages of the European Cup.

After being held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Turin, they went to Kiev and registered a brilliant victory over Dynamo in the second leg before putting their semi-final tie with Monaco beyond doubt with an outstanding display in the home leg.

Real Madrid, conversely, have had a miserable domestic campaign. Deprived of second spot in La Liga by Athletic Bilbao, and way behind the champions, Barcelona.

And, although they had few problems in containing a Borussia Dortmund side who were singularly lacking in penetration in the semi-final they will find Juventus an entirely different proposition.

Juventus get the vote to confirm themselves the best club side in Europe over 90 minutes.

Team C H L T

Juventus 5-6 evens 10-11 10-11

Draw 2-1 2-1 2-1 2-1

R Madrid 3-1 13-5 11-4 11-4

C - Coral, H -William Hill,

L - Ladbrokes, T - Tote