Serie A preview: Juventus vs. AC Milan – Team news, opposition insight, stats and more

By Isak Möller -

AC Milan will take on Juventus in the penultimate round of Serie A this season tomorrow evening, hoping to secure their spot in the top four with a win. In short, it’s an important game for the Rossoneri. 

Stefano Pioli’s men bounced back from the Champions League disappointment with an important 5-1 win against Sampdoria last time out. And after Juve’s 10-point deduction, things are indeed looking up for them.

During his presser earlier today, Pioli made it clear that Milan will be looking to secure a top-four finish tomorrow. They need just three points from the final two games, but he wants to get it done sooner rather than later.


Game date: Sunday, May 28
Kick-off time: 20:45 (CEST)
Venue: Allianz Stadium
Referee: Mariani (VAR: Irrati)


Team news

Milan’s situation is looking rather good on the injury front, even if it’s a huge blow that Ismael Bennacer will be out for at least six months. Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues to work individually as well, with his goal being the Verona game.

There will be no suspended players this time out, but the likes of Simon Kjaer, Pierre Kalulu, Tommaso Pobega and Ante Rebic will have to be careful. With one more yellow, they will miss the final round of the season.

As for the XI, Pioli will opt for consistency yet again as he’s expected to field the same players we saw against Inter and Sampdoria. They have had a full week to rest and there’s no need to rotate, but questions can be asked regarding Junior Messias.

The Brazilian has been very disappointing lately, while his direct rival Alexis Saelemaekers has looked very bright. It could be that Milan are hoping to showcase Messias ahead of the summer window, but if so that plan is going horribly wrong.

Brahim Diaz will keep his spot in the attacking trio after a great display against Sampdoria and Milan will be hoping that he can replicate it tomorrow. The fans are indeed divided when it comes to his future, but now he has the chance to shine.

Probable Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Thiaw, Tomori, Theo; Tonali, Krunic; Messias, Diaz, Leao; Giroud.


The opponents

It’s been such a strange season for Juventus. The reality is that they have collected 10 more points than Milan in the league and they also reached the semi-final of the Europa League. Yet, they could end the campaign with a lot of disappointment.

The timing of the 10-point deduction was far from ideal, anyone can agree, as the decision arrived just an hour before their game against Empoli on Monday. A game which the Bianconeri lost by four goals to one.

The Champions League dream remains alive but they need to win both of their remaining games, while also avoiding a penalty from UEFA. In short, it can’t be easy for the Juve players to remain motivated in such a tough situation.

On a good note, the likes of Danilo and Juan Cuadrado will be back for this game. Dusan Vlahovic picked up a knock recently and could miss out, with Moise Kean seemingly ready to start up front as opposed to Arkadiusz Milik.

Probable Juventus XI (3-5-2-1): Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; Cuadrado, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Di Maria, Chiesa; Kean.


Head to head

Most of us will remember the struggles Milan had against Juventus during the latter’s successful run in the last decade. However, the trend has switched in the last few years and the Rossoneri now have that ‘mental advantage’.

In fact, the Bianconeri haven’t beaten the Rossoneri in over two years, when Andrea Pirlo was in charge and they won 3-1. Milan had a plethora of injuries for that game and it’s not strange that they lost, but since then they have done well.

The last fixture ended 2-0 in favour of Stefano Pioli’s men. Fikayo Tomori and Brahim Diaz were the goalscorers and in truth, it was a comfortable win. The last direct clash at the Allianz Stadium, however, was a tight one as Ante Rebic equalised late in the second half.

Match facts…

➤ After a 2-0 win in the first game, Milan could win both seasonal meetings against Juventus in Serie A for just the third time in the last 50 years, following 2009/10 and 1990/91 seasons.

➤ Milan have kept a clean sheet in their last two games against Juventus in the league; only once in their Serie A history have the Rossoneri had a longer streak of consecutive clean sheets against the Bianconeri: four matches between 1988 and 1989.

➤ The last time Juventus won against Milan in the league was on January 6, 2021 (3-1 at the San Siro with Andrea Pirlo as coach); since then, Milan have remained unbeaten in the subsequent four Serie A matches (W2 D2) – the last time Milan had a longer unbeaten run against Juventus in the competition was between 1990 and 1992 (five matches).

➤ After winning the first nine games at the Allianz Stadium against Milan in Serie A, Juventus have only collected one point in the last two home matches against the Rossoneri; not since the period between 2004 and 2006 have Juventus had a longer run without a win at home against Milan in the league (three matches at the Delle Alpi).

➤ Juventus have lost nine games in a single Serie A season for the first time since 2010/11 (10). Additionally, they could suffer three consecutive defeats across all competitions for the first time since the period between February and March 2011 with Luigi Delneri as coach.

➤ No team have earned more points at home than Juventus in this Serie A season: 42 points in 18 matches (joint-most, tied with Napoli); on the other hand, Milan are the 9th-ranked team in terms of points earned away from home (24 points in 18 matches) in the current campaign.

➤ Milan have won only one of their last nine away matches (D4 L4) across all competitions (4-0 against Napoli in the league on April 2) and have lost the last two. The Rossoneri haven’t experienced three consecutive away defeats since May 2015, under Filippo Inzaghi.

➤ Only Roma have scored more goals (seven) than both Milan and Juventus (both six) in second-half injury time in Serie A 2022/23.

➤ Federico Chiesa has been involved in six goals (three goals and three assists) against Milan in the league, including his only brace with Juventus in Serie A (January 6, 2021); against no other opponent has he been directly involved in more goals in the competition (also six against Bologna).

➤ Olivier Giroud has scored 11 goals in the current league season, matching his tally from the 2021/22 Serie A campaign. Across all competitions, not since 2016/17 has the Frenchman scored at least 16 goals in a single season for his clubs (16 with Arsenal); his last better performance dates to 2015/16 (24 goals in that case, also with Arsenal).


Ones to watch

It’s hard to pick out anyone special given that it’s the same selection as the last two games, but Brahim Diaz could be one of the keys to victory. He was instrumental against Sampdoria and proved that on a good day, he can win games for Milan.

Another player that we could perhaps ask more of is Theo Hernandez. The Frenchman has looked a bit tired lately but, on the other hand, we know that he almost always fires up for the big games.

As for Juventus, Cuadrado is a player that gives a lot to the team, not just in terms of his end product but also his attitude. He has a knack for firing up his teammates and, simultaneously, frustrating the opponents.

Angel Di Maria has been linked with a move away from the club in recent days, most likely due to the point deduction, and it remains to be seen if he already has ‘checked out’ of this season.


Prediction

It’s a tough game to call because how it will pan out depends on so many factors. Milan, on a good day, have a big chance of claiming all three points. But the same can be said about Juventus if they can find some spark in all of the chaos.

Both teams in poor form, well, that would make for a very interesting game. The feeling is that the Rossoneri could come out on top, though.

Juventus 0-1 AC Milan

Tags AC Milan Juventus Serie A

11 Comments

  1. At this point, with Roma having just lost, I hope Inter thrash Atalanta so mathematically, Milan qualify for UCL if worse comes to worse we lose both next games by a very small margin. I no longer can trust this team to get 3 points. More likely against Juve than Hellas Verona. I want to say we’ll win and ensure our UCL campaign for next year, but I have a feeling itll come down to the final game against Verona and I have a very bad feeling we will choke against a relegation bound team. I hope I am proven wrong.

  2. Milan mental strength and persistence with a hard work in the game could be decisive to pass this game. It is enough to win a point and not to sacrifice everything in this game.

    I would bet on draw, and Milan wining the point equals winning champions league spot and rest in game against verona.

  3. We only need a point from this match and Pioli will play for a draw which is a bit dangerous but very possible. I’d be very happy to end the season with that after such a big disappointment over the last few weeks. Leaving it for the last match against Verona would be very risky considering how we’ve been playing against relegation teams…

  4. Congratz everyone for a place in CL next year. Atalanta can no longer catch us regardless of ball count cause in Italy the matches between teams are counted first and we won against Atalanta (1:1, 2:0).

  5. Have no fear that man Olivier Giroud is here .
    Yes that man is still our best front man ,and don’t count him out next season ,just don’t ..This man is a great target man ,and inside the 18 yard area one ,if not the best around ,yes he is ,despite his age ..
    So pleased he got a deserved hat trick ..
    He will score again against juventus..trust me .
    It’s AC Milan for me .

    1. I think the same. I was predicting he will score against sampdoria after goal draught for many games. Now is time for Olivier to score against strong opponent.

  6. With roma & atalanta already lost last night, milan only need 2 points at least to secure UCL spot. If you failed, you will lost your job Mister !!

    1. Milan need 1 point in last 2 games and he can lose against juventus but not more than 1 goal difference.

  7. Of course all the players need to have a great game to beat host Juve at home, however we need Krunic and Messias to shine to allow Leao and Diaz to do some magic on the left side. Unless Messias and occasionally Calabia can apply some threat on the right side it will be a long evening with Leao being marked by two. Theo is hungry fo a goal so expect him to play a little forward or at least make one of his trademark runs from one end to the other. Absolutely cannot let Juve score in the first 30 minutes or for that matter first. Forza Milano

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