Merse: Juve can win Champions League

Merson thinks Carlos Tevez and co. can lift the trophy

Paul Merson believes Juventus are the only team that can stop Barcelona from winning the Champions League and has tipped the Serie A champions to knock Real Madrid out of the competition on Wednesday.

Barcelona booked their spot in the final with a 5-3 aggregate win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday and Juventus will aim to join them in the Berlin showpiece when they travel to the Bernabeu on Wednesday night, live on Sky Sports 1 HD, with a 2-1 first-leg advantage.  

Merson - who has predicted a 1-1 draw in Madrid - told Sky Sports: “I think Juventus are the only team left that can stifle Barcelona, and I say that because they’ve got very good defenders – proper defenders. That’s why I think they’ve got a chance of lifting the trophy, I really do.

“If I’m being honest, I was well impressed with Juventus in the first leg, especially in the first 20 minutes – Real Madrid didn’t have a clue what was going on.

“I couldn’t believe how good they were, but they got knocked sideways a bit when it went 1-1.”

Merson has highlighted the importance of Paul Pogba’s return to fitness ahead of the second leg, with the Frenchman playing over an hour and scoring in Juve’s 1-1 draw with Cagliari at the weekend.

He said: “With Carlos Tevez on the field and Pogba coming back – which makes a big difference – they’re a serious threat to Madrid.

“I think this is a really hard game to call. It’s finely balanced, but I can see this Juve lot scoring a goal away from home.

“I think Real Madrid will go out of the competition unless they score first. If Madrid score first they could win 2-0 or 3-0, but I think Tevez will score first for Juventus and it might be enough for them.

“If Juve fall behind they’ll have to chase the game, and you don’t want to be chasing a game against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo hitting back at you.”