Football Bet of the Day: McKennie is Juve’s man for all situations

Juventus head into their Champions League play-off second leg against Galatasaray (20:00GMT, TNT Sports) with it all to do. The Old Lady lost 5-2 in Turkey and now need four goals to reach the round of 16 for the first time since the 2021/22 season.

The two-time European Cup winners face off with a side who have never lifted Ol’ Big Ears. But it is the seasoned former champions who come in as the underdogs to advance. But we’ll be looking beyond the result for our Football Bet of the Day in Turin.

Juventus vs Galatasaray Odds

Juve looked to be cruising in their play-off first leg. The Italian giants were 2-1 up at half time and appeared to be a side in the ascendancy. Oh to be a fly on the wall in the dressing rooms at the break. 

What did Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk say to inspire four unanswered second half goals? What did Juve boss Luciano Spalletti say that could possibly have led to such a capitulation? Perhaps the swing was out of the hands of both managers. It was certainly out of the hands of Juventus, who looked helpless as their Champions League campaign was placed on life support by the rampant Turkish side.

As galling as the capitulation was to watch, there are reasons to be cheerful as a fan of the Serie A side. Galatasaray are ropey on the road, having lost 46 of their 65 Champions League away games. If you are going to try and engineer a four-goal swing, you want to do so on familiar turf against a team who struggles away from home.

The first leg was historically bad for Juventus. Gabriel Sara created seven chances for Galatasaray, the most a single player has ever created in a UCL game against Juve since the statistic was first measured in 2003/04.

Football Odds

This is not the Juventus of old, of course. Troubles on and off the pitch have sapped the side who used to strike fear into continental hearts as us Brits watched live on ITV. The game is unrecognisable these days and the grand Old Lady cannot call on players on the level of Pavel Nedved, Zinedine Zidane, David Trezeguet or Filippo Inzaghi.

But there is still talent in the ranks. Teun Koopmeiners netted those two first half goals last week. The Dutchman is capable of prolific goalscoring from midfield, though he is yet to reproduce his net-busting Atalanta form in Turin. 

Kenan Yildiz looks every inch the ‘wonderkid’ he is touted as, with 25 goals in 118 Juventus games before his 21st birthday. Manuel Locatelli, a relative veteran at 28, was part of the Italy side that broke England’s hearts in the Euro 2020 final. Defensive rock Pierre Kalulu brings Scudetto-winning experience from AC Milan.

But it is Weston McKennie who I am backing to make a difference in this intriguing tie. The multi-functional American is best-known for being able to play almost every outfield position with quality and composure. English fans probably known him most from his loan spell at Leeds United as they were relegated in 2022/23. But there is so much more to McKennie than versatility and a misspent spell at Elland Road.

McKennie has played all across the midfield and front line this season. But wherever he has been positioned, goals have followed. McKennie has netted seven in 36 matches across all competitions. Tellingly, three of those strikes came in the Champions League.

It feels inevitable that Juventus will rely on their man for all situations as they find themselves up against it here. I expect McKennie to answer the call once again as Juventus bid to cling on to their Champions League hopes.