Zürich vs Juventus: Match facts, previous meetings, key players
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Article summary
All you need to know ahead of the UEFA Women's Champions League Group C opener.
Article top media content
Article body
Zürich, who are making their debut in the UEFA Women's Champions League group stage, begin their Group C campaign against last season's quarter-finalists Juventus.
The 23-time Swiss champions, who have never gone further than the last 16 of this competition, were eliminated in Round 1 of qualifying last season but successfully negotiated that hurdle this time round, beating Faroese side KÍ (6-0) and Apollon of Cyprus (1-0) before a 10-0 aggregate second-round success against SFK 2000 Sarajevo of Bosnia and Herzegovina (7-0 a, 3-0 h).
Juventus, who clinched their fifth Serie A in a row last term, were eliminated in the last eight in 2021/22 by eventual winners Lyon, losing 4-3 on aggregate despite a 2-1 comeback victory in the Turin first leg.
The Bianconere reached last season’s quarter-finals after finishing as runners-up in Group A behind Wolfsburg, pipping 2020/21 finalists Chelsea to second place via a three-way tie-break. Joe Montemurro's side began their 2021/22 UEFA Women's Champions League group campaign with a 3-0 win against Swiss Women's Super League side Servette in Geneva on 6 October 2021.
The Turin outfit qualified for this year's group stage with a 3-1 aggregate win against Danish champions HB Køge (1-1 a, 2-0 h), having beaten Luxembourg's Racing Union 4-0 and Israel's Qiryat Gat 3-1 in Round 1.
Players to watch
Arianna Caruso
The 22-year-old found the net twice in qualifying, scoring in the Round 1 semi-final and final victories.
Caruso was named Player of the Match in Juve's UEFA Women's Champions League group opener last season, scoring the Bianconere's first goal of the section in the 3-0 victory against Swiss side Servette in Geneva.
Her 16 goals in all competitions last season was a career-best return.
Last season's Serie A title was Caruso's fifth with Juventus; she is one of eight players to have been with the Bianconere for all five of the club's successful league campaigns.
She became the first player to reach 100 appearances for the Turin side in May 2021, and in October last year extended her stay with the club until 2024.
Caruso hit seven goals in eight appearances as Italy topped their 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying group, only Juve team-mate Cristiana Girelli (eight) scoring more for the Azzurre in the campaign.
She scored four goals in Italy's 8-0 World Cup qualifying win in Moldova on 2 September, Caruso's first international hat-trick .
Fabienne Humm
The 35-year-old scored four goals in as many matches in qualifying for this season's group stage, including a hat-trick in the 7-0 win at SFK 2000 Sarajevo in the first leg of the Round 2 tie.
Humm struck five times in Zürich's 8-0 Women's Super League victory against Basel on 25 September.
The attacker hit the extra-time equaliser in the 2-2 title play-off against Servette in June, also converting her penalty in the subsequent 5-4 shoot-out success.
The forward has been with Zürich since 2009, last season's league title her ninth with the club.
Humm ended the regular league campaign in 2021/22 as joint-top scorer with 14 goals, along with Luzern's Sina Cavelti.
The forward also scored twice in Zurich's 4-1 Swiss Cup final victory against Grasshoppers in April, as the side from the Swiss capital clinched a seventh league and cup double in 11 years.
Humm made FIFA Women's World Cup history in 2015 with a hat-trick in the space of five second-half minutes in the 10-1 win against Ecuador, the quickest treble in the tournament's history.
Key facts
Zürich have won each of their four European matches this season, all without conceding a goal; they struck 17 themselves.
The Swissh side have opened the scoring inside of the opening ten minutes in three of their four European matches this season.
Zürich have lost their previous three UEFA Women's Champions League matches against Italian clubs.
Juventus won their previous two UEFA Women's Champions League matches against Swiss opposition, beating Servette 3-0 away and 4-0 at home in last season's group stage.
The Bianconere have lost only two of their last 16 UEFA Women's Champions League matches (W11 D3), failing to score in only two games in that sequence.
Juve have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three group stage matches.