Juventus and AC Milan will both be aiming to collect as much points as possible in the next match which is only two week after they met in the Supercoppa Italiana match on Saturday evening in Turin.
Well, after Milan staged a comeback to beat Juve in KSA, the two meet again in Serie A, which is lagging behind Italy’s top four.
Juventus may well have recorded 20 Serie A matches consecutively without a defeat, but their campaign could not be farther from expectations because of an inability for them to finish off their opponents.
Besides the recent elimination to Milan in the Supercoppa semi-finals, which was leading 1-0 into the final 20 minutes, the Bianconeri had also failed to seal victories in each of the last three league matches – against Fiorentina, then against Torino in the Derby della Mole, and finally the away match to Atalanta BC.
Juve has been known for [historic margin] in this season have lost the advantage for the seventh time, although Pierre Kalulu goal was not enough to bring La Dea in Bergamo on Tuesday evening.
It could make for thirteen draws out of twenty league fixtures and sees Thiago Motta’s men in fifth place on the log, four points behind the much improved Milan team, although the Rossoneri have a game in hand.
Another scoreless draw on Saturday would mean that Juventus would have drawn four consecutive home Serie A fixtures for the first time since 2009, so avoiding that fate at the expense of the Rossoneri would be something they would be looking forward to.
However, after having recorded 9 consecutive home victories over Milan in the Italian Series A, Juve have been unable to record a victory in the last four encounters, and they have only managed to get 2 goals in total in their last 8 league encounters.
Milan welcomed Cagliari in last Saturday's nocturnal kickoff, but the second-city powerhouse had to settle for a home tie. Milan had just won the Supercoppa, defeating both Juventus and city rivals Inter to claim the cup.
That was the first slip-up in Sergio Conceicao's short tenure, but when the Rossoneri bounced back from a losing position for the third time in four games under their demanding new manager, things quickly returned to normal.
Theo Hernandez overtook the great Paolo Maldini to tie the score in the neighboring city of Como, scoring his 30th Serie A goal and becoming the first defender in club history to do so. Rafael Leao scored the winning goal shortly after, continuing his recent comeback.
Milan is eager to secure back-to-back league wins for the first time since September. If they’re going to climb back into the top four and salvage a season marred by inconsistency, they can't afford to drop any more points.
Sitting behind Juventus and other rivals in Serie A, Milan’s path to a Champions League return next season is uncertain. They’ll be back in action this Wednesday at home against Girona, hoping to turn things around.
Before that, coach Conceicao has a personal reunion to look forward to. However, there’s a bit of a twist as his son, Juve winger Francisco Conceicao, had to withdraw from the warm-up in Saudi Arabia and remains a fitness concern for this weekend.
Milan, too, is dealing with injuries, as Christian Pulisic, Alvaro Morata, and Malick Thiaw all had to leave the field in Como. Unfortunately, Thiaw’s injury could sideline him for several games, likely paving the way for Matteo Gabbia to step in alongside Milan’s defense. While Pulisic could still be available for Saturday’s clash, Morata is definitely out due to suspension and will miss facing one of his former teams.
Meanwhile, Samuel Chukwueze, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Alessandro Florenzi are also sidelined, but Juventus’ injury woes are easing up. Dusan Vlahovic, their top scorer, should be back soon—potentially starting from the bench—and Francisco Conceicao might join the squad to face his father’s new team.
That leaves only Arkadiusz Milik, Juan Cabal, and Bremer on the injury list as Juve prepares for their crucial upcoming fixtures, including matches against Milan and Club Brugge in the Champions League.
