After accumulating eight points in the first four matchdays, Benfica is on top of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League,
The Portuguese are leaders of the group together with Paris Saint Germain, while Juventus is one step away from elimination.
The Bianconeri traveled to Lisbon to take on the Eagles on Tuesday night in order to preserve what remains of their extremely slim chances of salvaging their UCL campaign.
When these two sides met in the first leg at the Allianz Stadium, Arek Milik gave the Italians an early lead, but they ended up squandering it as their hosts scored twice to emerge victorious in Turin.
However, Benfica coach Roger Schmidt remains cautious despite his team’s favorable position.
The German believes that Juventus is still a dangerous rival, while identifying Manuel Locatelli as the one who raises the level of the team.
“In Turin, we played a good match and won, but each match is different from the other,” Schmidt said in his pre-match press conference via il Corriere dello Sport.
“The situation in the group is clear, we have a small advantage, we only need one point to qualify, while Juventus will have to win two games, but everything is still open.
“Juve is still Juve, a great club with so many great players who will want to do everything possible to advance in the Champions League.
“We expect the best Juve possible, but we will play as we usually do, to win and make our fans happy. We are in football to experience games like these.
“Juventus is an expert team with an experienced and capable coach.
“I know from experience how difficult it can be to have so many injuries, but they will go into the field with a strong formation. A player like Locatelli raises the level of the team”.
The winner of Euro 2020 had missed the first game against Benfica due to injury.
