Juventus welcome AC Milan to the Juventus Stadium on Friday as the two heavyweights of the Serie A are set to clash in the first Serie A match of this week. The last time these two sides met, AC Milan emerged 1-0 winners as Manuel Locatelli scored the winner and now Juventus will be looking to get revenge and maintain their lead at the top of the table.
Also read: Chelsea and Manchester City back in for Leonardo Bonucci after bust up with Massimiliano Allegri
This match will certainly be an interesting watch considering the stars who will be on display. The fact that both the teams are unbeaten in their last five games will also make it even more interesting.
The reigning Serie A champions struggled in their previous match against Udinese as they needed a goal from Leonardo Bonucci to draw the match. Massimiliano Allegri will demand a much better performance from his team in this match and will be expecting a win as they look to maintain a reasonable gap between them and AS Roma in second place.
Juventus will be without their star defender Giorgio Chiellini, who is down with a hamstring injury, and central midfielder Stefano Sturaro is also set to miss out due to an abdomen injury. Medhi Benatia, Daniele Rugani or Andrea Barzagli will partner Bonucci at the back.
In his pre-match press conference, Allegri said that despite having such a huge lead at the top of the table, Roma still have a chance to catch up with them and that they need to pick up all the three points against AC Milan.
"We've an eight-point advantage over Roma, but the title race is still open and we need to make sure of picking up all three points tomorrow. We can expect a tough match against a Milan team who are coming off the back of two positive results. They're quick, technically strong and, at the end of the day, Juventus v Milan is still a very big game in Italian football, despite the number of points currently separating us in the table," ESPN quoted him as saying.
AC Milan will have the chance to close the gap with the top four with a win over Juventus as they continue to chase European football once again. If they defeat Juventus, they could climb up to fifth place and would see them go above their arch rivals Inter, who take on Atlanta on Sunday.
AC Milan have no suspensions for this match, but have a few injuries to deal with. Riccardo Montolivo and Giacomo Bonaventura are set to miss this match for sure and Locatelli is a slight doubt for this match as he is suffering from cold. Ignazio Abate is also set to miss this match through an eye injury.
AC Milan coach Vincenzo Montell said in his press conference that his team must beat Juventus to stay in the mix for European football next season. He said this match is going to be a battle and his team are determined to win it and said the attitude of the players is going to matter.
"It's going to be a really hard match and we will need the right mentality and approach. Juve know how to win, but we've already beaten them this season. The game is worth three points and winning would give us a great lift in the race for Europe. It's going to be a battle - we want to win it. This is a crucial moment of the season. One point more or less or one position doesn't make much difference, it's the attitude that matters," Montell said.
Where to watch
The Serie A match between Juventus and AC Milan is set to start at 7:45pm GMT (1:15am IST, 2:45pm EST)
TV and Live streaming information
India: TV: Sony ESPN. Live Steaming: Sony Liv.
UK: TV: BT Sports 3. Live Streaming: Watch BT Sport.
USA: TV: beIN Sports. Live Streaming: beIN Sports Connect.
Italy: TV: Sky Calcio 1, Sky Sport 1 HD Italia. Live streaming: Sky Go Italia.
