Former Juventus and Monaco defender Lilian Thuram believes the Bianconeri are favourites when they meet in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The two clubs face off at the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday evening and Thuram thinks the Old Lady have the upper hand.
“It’s no surprise that Juventus are in the quarter-finals,” he told Tuttosport.
“Even though they’ve had some difficulty in the Champions League in recent years, they’re still a great club.
Former Juventus and Monaco defender Lilian Thuram believes the Bianconeri are favourites when they meet in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The two clubs face off at the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday evening and Thuram thinks the Old Lady have the upper hand.
“It’s no surprise that Juventus are in the quarter-finals,” he told Tuttosport.
“Even though they’ve had some difficulty in the Champions League in recent years, they’re still a great club.
“With the players they have, they can’t be considered a surprise. Monaco on the other hand have astonished everyone by beating Arsenal in the Last 16.”
Thuram refused to agree with Monaco President Dmitry Rybolovlev that the French side were under less pressure to succeed than Juventus.
“Every squad, including Monaco, has something to lose. At first, everyone thought that Monaco wouldn’t get through the group stage, and then that they had no hope against Arsenal.
“Instead, they’ve made it to the quarter-finals, and once you’re there you want to keep progressing. I don’t believe that they are under any less pressure than Juve.”
The Old Lady will be missing star midfielder Paul Pogba for both legs due to a hamstring injury, but the former French international believes his absence will not significantly weaken the team.
“Juventus are favourites even without Pogba, at least on paper. No player can win a game by themselves, not even [Lionel] Messi.
“Having said that, Pogba is fantastic. He has incredible quality and unusual maturity for a player of his age. You can see he is determined and wants to improve and raise the level of his game.”