Two giants of Italian football, AC Milan and Juventus, are pitted against each other for the first time in the Serie A 2016-17 season. The two sides go head-to-head at the San Siro in Milan on Saturday.
Defending Italian league champions Juventus lead the table after eight games, while Milan stay third in the Serie A points table, a position behind Roma. The pressure definitely is on the home team to get past the Juve side, who have won seven out of their eight games this season and are looking menacing.
Milan, too, may have remained undefeated in their previous five Serie A games, but against Juventus, Vincenzo Montella's side will face their toughest challenge yet. With star midfielder Riccardo Montolivo being ruled out for six months as he recovers from a knee surgery, the task gets a bit too difficult for the home team.
"Juve have a stratospheric squad that will require our utmost humility and concentration and the ultimate sacrifice in order to play on par with them,'' Vincenzo said to Italian media ahead of the game.
''We are keeping our feet on the ground and we must approach (Juve) with humility and mental freedom. The game is very difficult and they are very strong. [But] We want to make a good impression," he added.
The away side have a problem as veteran defender Giorgio Chiellini is still on the sidelines owing to injury, but Croat forward Mario Mandzukic could return, confirmed Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri ahead of the game.
''We will find a [Milan] team that has great enthusiasm, they are young, strong and have good technique, so I would say (on Saturday) to get a result we have to make a major improvement, with our head," said Allegri in the pre-match presser. "But especially with great competitiveness and ability," he added.
Schedule
Milan vs Juventus is scheduled to kick off at 7.45 pm BST (12.15 am IST [Sunday], 2.45 pm EST) on October 22.
Where to watch live
INDIA: TV: Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD. Live streaming: Sony Liv.
UK: TV: BT Sport 3. Live streaming: BT Sport Live.
USA: TV: beIN Sports, RAI International, fubo TV. Live streaming: beIN Sports Connect.
ITALY: TV: Sky Calcio 1, Sky Sport 1 HD Italia. Live streaming: Sky Go Italia.
