When football returned in the summer, the clubs and leagues around the world have agreed to do whatever they can to keep the players and the staff safe. In most countries, fans still don’t have access to stadiums – and they will have to stay away for the foreseeable future. These measures, in turn, are not always enough.
The latest in a row of football players to test positive is Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo Being forced into isolation, the football star may have to sit out three of Juve’s Champions League matches, including the one against Barcelona, thus missing his reunion with Lionel Messi.
What to expect?
If you take a look at the Betway soccer betting odds for Juve’s upcoming matches, you’ll see that the team is still a strong favourite for its upcoming fixtures. The team did well in its recent games and is expected to continue to do so in the near future, even without Ronaldo strengthening their ranks.
Betway’s predictors expect both teams to score (but Juve to score first) in the team’s upcoming game against Crotone. While they’ll play without their biggest star, the Bianconeri are still expected to do much better than their opponent – Crotone has conceded ten goals this season already.
Ronaldo will likely still be in isolation for Juve’s upcoming Chammatch against Dynamo Kiev on October 20 but the Italian side is still expected to win without issues. The two teams met before and Juve won each of the encounters in the past. Playing away will certainly be a disadvantage for the Italian side but the odds are still in their favour.
On October 25, Juve will face Verona in its next Serie A match. Around this time, Ronaldo may already be out of isolation – he’ll have to spend at least 10 days away from everyone, and produce negative tests before being allowed to return to the world. The worst-case scenario is for him to be sidelined for the entire 21-day period – in this case, he’ll miss the Bianconeri’s game against Barcelona on October 28 and the one against Spezia on November 1st, too.
How will Ronaldo’s quarantine affect Juve’s performance?
While the success of a team does not depend on a single player, it’s safe to say that Ronaldo is one of the key players at Juventus. And his forced hiatus may indeed affect the performance of the team in its upcoming matches. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored in 11 straight league games before the lockdowns and after football returned to Italy, he scored more goals than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues.
