AC Milan should be expected to beat Juventus by a 2-1 scoreline.
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As the Serie A season resumes, the San Siro stadium will host Saturday’s blockbuster game between AC Milan and Juventus.
The Rossoneri enter this match after experiencing a somewhat turbulent autumn, marked by inconsistent performances. A remarkable 3-1 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu was overshadowed by a frustrating 3-3 draw with Cagliari, where they let their lead slip twice, even with stellar displays from Rafael Leao and Tammy Abraham.
Juventus come off the back of a morale-boosting 2-0 derby victory against Torino, courtesy of goals from Timothy Weah and Kenan Yildiz. This win marked the Bianconeri’s first back-to-back Serie A victories since the early weeks of the campaign, and placed them just one point behind leaders Napoli.
The probable lineup for AC Milan in the “system of play.”
Maignan; Emerson Royal, Tomori, Pavlovic, Theo Hernandez; Fofana, Loftus-Cheek; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Morata.
The probable lineup for Juventus in the “system of play.”
Di Gregorio; Savona, Gatti, Kalulu, Cambiaso; Thuram, Locatelli; Conceicao, Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Weah.
For Milan’s manager, Paulo Fonseca, the attacking flair has been evident. The Rossoneri have only failed to score twice this season, yet defensive frailties continue to affect the team.
Goalkeeper Mike Maignan has only kept four clean sheets, while the hosts have conceded 14 goals – double the number Juventus have allowed.
Fonseca might once again rely on the attacking trio of Rejinders, Pulisic and Leao, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek stepping into the attacking midfield role if formation adjustments require it.
Alvaro Morata, a familiar face to Juventus fans (59 goals for the Spaniard with the club), will face the ‘Old Lady’ for the first time in Serie A in an opposing jersey.
Defensively, there are concerns regarding the fitness of both Theo Hernandez and young Mattia Gabbia, which might result in summer signing Strahinja Pavlovic starting from the first minute.
Juventus faces its own selection challenges, particularly missing striker Dusan Vlahovic. Despite scoring nine goals this season, he has intriguingly never scored at San Siro in his eight appearances.
The tactical dilemma for Motta extends into midfield and defence, especially due the absence of Bremer at the back.
For our AC Milan vs Juventus predictions it could be argued that despite their recent issues the hosts are rightly considered favourites.
The long-standing rivalry between Milan and Juventus is steeped in history, with 178 previous Serie A meetings yielding 68 victories for Juventus and 53 for Milan, alongside 57 draws.
Focusing on San Siro encounters, Milan boasts an edge, having won 30 of the 89 fixtures, while Juventus has triumphed on 25 occasions with 34 resulting in stalemates.
Despite Juventus’s historical dominance, recent head-to-heads note an advantage for Milan, with the Rossoneri losing just one of the last eight Serie A meetings against their Turin rivals.
What’s perhaps most intriguing is both teams’ roles in Serie A this season.
The Bianconeri, second in the table, remain unbeaten in the league. Meanwhile, Milan, despite their derby victory over Inter, lags eight points behind Napoli but has a game in hand.
With Juventus and Milan leading the league in pass completion rates at 88.4% and 86.7% respectively, dominating the midfield could prove crucial.
With Vlahovic sidelined, much rests on Juventus finding potency in alternative forward setups and utilising players like Yildiz, who has already scored a brace at San Siro against Inter, back in October.
For Milan, the spotlight is firmly on Rafa Leao, who has struck key goals against Cagliari and Real Madrid, and has also netted with Portugal during the international break.
Statistics indicate that matches between two top clubs immediately following the international break tend to be cautious affairs.
Since last season Italian top teams have met five times following international breaks. Last month Juventus beat Lazio 1-0 and Inter had the better of Roma with the same scoreline. Additionally, last season, Juventus won 1-0 against AC Milan at San Siro, while the “Derby d’Italia” with Inter Milan ended in a 1-1 draw.
Therefore the value pick of these AC Milan vs Juventus predictions is to combine a relatively low scoring first half with few corners being taken before the break.