Juventus and Milan are set to square off at the Allianz Stadium in a blockbuster Serie A clash on Sunday and it’s time to preview the game and take a look at the expected lineups. While the hosts have yet to taste victory in the top-flight this term, the visitors are riding on another resounding league start.
Juventus will hope their 3-0 thrashing of Swedish side Malmo in the Champions League midweek could inspire their attempt to claim their first Serie A win this season. Meanwhile, despite losing 3-2 to Liverpool at Anfield, Milan can be proud of their showing against one of Europe’s strongest teams.
Juventus vs Milan Head-to-Head
Juventus were utterly outclassed by arch-rivals in their most recent Serie A encounter in Turin, falling to a horrendous 3-0 defeat in May. As a result, they face the risk of losing consecutive top-flight H2Hs on home soil for the first time in over a decade.
Meanwhile, Milan’s renaissance under Stefano Pioli has seen the Rossoneri beat familiar foes twice across their last three Serie A meetings (L1). That’s as many victories as they had in their previous 17 top-flight H2Hs beforehand (W2, D1, L14).
Despite Juventus’ dominance of recent H2Hs, Milan remain the team to have inflicted more Serie A defeats on the Bianconeri (51) than any other side. Though none of their last 18 league match-ups have ended level, the record-time Italian champions have drawn more games in the competition versus the Rossoneri (54) than against any other outfit.
Juventus Form Preview
It has not been a start to the season Juventus had hoped for when bringing Massimiliano Allegri back to the helm at the expense of Andrea Pirlo. After leading the Bianconeri to five consecutive Serie A titles during his first spell at the club, he has failed to win any of his three managerial games since returning to the club this summer (D1, L2).
Another potential failure here would see Juventus go winless in their first four matches of a new Serie A season for the first time since 1961/62. A defeat here would witness Allegri’s side set an unwanted club record, as the Turin giants have never lost three of their inaugural four top-flight fixtures before.
Allegri needs to address Juventus’ defensive issues if they are to return in contention for the title. Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 17 outings in Serie A since a 3-0 thumping of Spezia at this venue in early March. Only twice have they conceded in more league matches in succession, most recently in 2010 (19 that time).
None of Juventus’ 14 Serie A games at the Allianz Stadium in 2021 have ended as a draw (W11, L3). Interestingly, each reverse in that sequence saw the Bianconeri fail to get on the scoresheet, with two yielding the identical 1-0 scoreline.
With Cristiano Ronaldo no longer in the picture, Paulo Dybala will be under the spotlight. The Argentine forward has bagged five Serie A goals against Milan in Turin. Against no other side has he scored on more occasions at the Allianz Stadium.
Milan Form Preview
Unlike their hosts, Milan have hit the ground running in Serie A since the opening weekend. One of only three teams to have won all three league games ahead of this round, the Rossoneri are aiming for back-to-back four-game winning starts to a new top-flight campaign. Pioli could make history in Turin and become the first Milan manager to achieve that feat, having led his side to a 100% four-game start last season.
Milan will be on a high here, as they’ve racked up seven victories from eight Serie A outings (D1) since losing 3-0 to Lazio on the road in late April. Indeed, the visitors have registered seven clean sheets in that eight-game sequence, with no team across Europe’s top-five divisions managing more since May! Pioli’s men have won their last four Serie A fixtures away from home ‘to nil,’ whilst averaging 3.25 goals per match.
Interestingly, Milan haven’t drawn any of their 13 Serie A games on the road this calendar year (W11, L2), with 69.23% of those results (win/loss) seeing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet. Therefore, any hopes of upsetting their bitter rivals here may hinge on scoring the opening goal.
However, Pioli’s side may find goals hard to come by in Turin. Both star strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Olivier Giroud are ruled out with injuries, leaving the Mister short of reliable options in the center-forward role. One of Rafael Leao and Ante Rebic will have to step up and fill the void, though Brahim Diaz could be an ace up Pioli’s sleeve.
The 22-year-old playmaker has bagged two first-half goals in all competitions this season. Diaz also hammered home a screamer on the stroke of half-time the last time Milan visited the Allianz Stadium before Rebic and Fikayo Tomori added insult to injury in the second half.
Juventus vs Milan Predicted Lineups
Juventus (4-4-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Danilo, Alex Sandro; Rodrigo Bentancur, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Juan Cuadrado; Paulo Dybala, Alvaro Morata.
AC Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Theo Hernandez, Fikayo Tomori, Simon Kjaer, Davide Calabria; Sandro Tonali, Franck Kessié; Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao, Alessandro Florenzi; Ante Rebic.