When people talk about footballing miracles, they generally discuss Liverpool's comeback against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final and Leicester City's Premier League triumph last season, but it can be argued that Barcelona's successful turnaround against Paris Saint-Germain last month trumped them all. Luis Enrique's side were four goals down after the first leg in France - as well as being without an away goal - but they found a way to score six goals in the reverse fixture in Spain, three of which came from the 88th minute onwards. What happened on that night will forever be remembered as one of sport's most dramatic fightbacks, but do not set your expectations too high ahead of Barcelona hosting Juventus in the second leg of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday evening.
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The Barcelona v Juventus betting odds indicate that bookmakers are fearful of lightning striking twice at Camp Nou, but their stance on who will qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League is based on their need to avoid such financial losses after some extravagant bets ahead of PSG's capitulation. On the flip-side, you are getting much better odds for Juventus progressing through to the last four of the competition and while your profit will be minimal, it is better than being drawn into the suggestion that another chapter will be written into the Barcelona fairytale.
The Catalan giants possess some of the best footballers in the world and Lionel Messi continues to offer a constant threat in the final third alongside Luis Suarez and Neymar, but some of the team are playing with the lack of enthusiasm which sometimes comes hand in hand when a manager announces that he intends to leave a club at the end of the season. That is exactly what Enrique decided to do soon after the start of 2017 and while they remain competitive in La Liga, they do not look like a team who can put a run together which is good enough to see off Real Madrid. They returned to winning ways at the weekend as they defeated Real Sociedad but such a close game is hardly ideal preparation for a team which is strong in all departments.
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It would be easy for Juventus to look at Barcelona's weaknesses ahead of the second leg, but they will gain just as much confidence from their own strengths. It probably goes without saying that Barcelona have the best front three in world football but Juventus are most certainly not devoid of quality in the final third and in Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain, they have two of the in-form players both domestically and abroad. Much has been made of Dybala in recent weeks but Higuain has three doubles in his last four appearances. Are Barcelona capable of withstanding the ability of the pair, both individually and in tandem, throughout the 90 minutes? That is open to debate but are Barcelona good enough to score three goals against such a well-oiled defence? The only time that Juventus have conceded so many goals in the league or in Europe this season came in November when they endured a freak 45 minutes away at Genoa, with all three goals coming in the first half.
Juventus' opposition during their current European campaign is not necessarily comparable to Barcelona, but it is worth noting that they have only conceded two goals in nine matches. They have beaten Lyon, Sevilla and Porto all on the road and rather than questioning whether they can only lose by one or two goals in Spain - which is the natural assumption - more focus should be placed on whether they can advance in style. You can get 18/5 on the draw and a massive 5/1 on a Juventus win, and it opens up opportunities in other markets. The likes of Dybala and Higuain to score is being offered at in and around 2/1 and betting odds like that do not come around very often. The speculative punter will go in on Barcelona qualifying for the semi-finals at 17/4 but this is not the Barca, or Juve, of old. Tides are turning and Wednesday night could be the night that Juventus solidify the feeling that Barcelona are no longer the force they once were.
