Is Cristiano Ronaldo playing tonight? Juventus team news ahead of FC Porto clash

Andrea Pirlo's Juventus will host Sergio Conceicao's FC Porto at the Allianz Stadium for their UCL last 16 second leg game on Tuesday, March 9. Porto clinched a 2-1 win over Juventus in the first led and the second leg is now scheduled to kick off at 9:00 PM local time (Wednesday, March 10 at 1:30 AM IST). However, netizens have been curious to know whether Juventus talisman Cristiano Ronaldo will feature in the game or not after Pirlo opted to start the Portuguese star on the bench for the Serie A clash against Lazio, before bringing him on for a 20-minute cameo at the weekend. 

Is Cristiano Ronaldo playing tonight? Juventus ace set to start against FC Porto

Cristiano Ronaldo has been one of the top performers for the defending Italian champions this season. The Portuguese superstar has scored a total of 27 goals across all competitions for the Bianconeri this season but was surprisingly left on the bench for Juventus' clash against Lazio over the weekend. Ronaldo was brought on as a substitute in a 20-minute cameo as Juventus won the game 3-1.

Following the victory, Pirlo explained that Ronaldo, by his own admission, agreed to take a rest after leading the line for so many games in a row. The Italian coach also explained that he wanted to give Ronaldo a slight break ahead of the crucial UCL game against Porto on Tuesday. Ronaldo also trained with the squad on Monday and barring any late injury, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is expected to start in attack for Juventus against Porto.

Juventus vs Porto preview Juventus vs Porto team news

In the first leg between these to teams, Porto took the lead inside just two minutes through Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi and found themselves two goals to the good soon after half-time, thanks to a strike from his strike partner Moussa Marega. Juventus managed to give themselves a lifeline with an away goal, scored by Federico Chiesa, but the Portuguese outfit managed to take a narrow 2-1 lead heading into the second leg. 

For Juventus, Paulo Dybala remains injured, while Rodrigo Bentancur tested positive for COVID-19 last week. Danilo will also miss the game due to suspension. 

For Porto, Ivan Marcano and Chancel Mbemba are expected to be unavailable for the game against Juventus. 

Champions League live stream: Where to watch Juventus vs Porto live? 

In India, the game will broadcast live on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 2 HD, Sony Ten 3 and Sony Ten 3 HD.v The Juventus vs Porto live stream will be available on the Sony LIV app. Live scores and updates can be found on the Twitter handles of both teams. 

 

Image Credits - Cristiano Instagram