Juve vs Madrid: The best team vs the best squad

The Champions League final sees the best team in the world take on the best squad in the world. Juventus vs Real Madrid, in Cardiff on June 3.

It will be a magnificent match between two sides with conflicting set-ups. Madrid’s team is based on incredible talent which stretches deep. Against Atletico on Wednesday night they brought on Lucas Vazquez, Marcos Asensio and Alvaro Morata.

The latter was a key player for Juve but Madrid plucked him back to sit on their bench.

Pepe, James Rodriguez, Dani Carvajal, for one reason or another none of them featured, but they are players who have won this competition before and could start for any side in the world.

Madrid have an ocean of quality players and that will give them the upper hand the later in the game the Champions League final goes.

If the game was a man-for-man comparison of the 20 plus players in each squad, Los Blancos would be lifting their 12th Champions League title already.

But what Juventus have is an incredible team, which is a unit is unbeatable. Almost literally, with Gianluigi Buffon just conceding three goals in the tournament to date.

Madrid last failed to score 61 games ago, so it is the unstoppable force against the (nearly) immovable object.

Juve’s BBC will give Madrid’s BBC a run for their money. Barzagli, Bonucci and Chiellini will be looking to blunt the trident of Bale, Benzema and Cristiano.

That’s assuming the Welshman is fit for his Cardiff homecoming, which is a big assumption to make. If Zinedine Zidane didn’t have his hands tied in the matter he might start the sublime Isco anyway.

UNIT

Juventus, a team with an unreliable Gonzalo Higuain, ageing Sami Khedira and ungainly Mario Mandzukic in it as key players theoretically should not be so impressive.

But between Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Mandzukic, all the major attacking skill-sets are covered. Clinical finishing, speed, skill and muscle, it’s all there.

Dani Alves has become essential too, the Brazilian enjoying a second wind in Turin. He created, incredibly, all four of Juve’s semi-final goals against Monaco, setting up three and battering home a perfectly-struck volley for the fourth.

Madrid overcame a venomous Vicente Calderon and a similar type of team with a similar type of sprit, in Atletico in the semi-finals, but Juventus are a rung above Atletico.

If the Serie A giants can get their noses in front then the Juve wall at the back will be built tougher and stronger than ever.