Tomorrow night, AC Milan will welcome Juventus to San Siro in a game that could have significant importance in the Champions League race.
For Milan, their win last weekend has meant that they are not under as much pressure for a result in this game. However, Massimiliano Allegri and a sold out San Siro will be expecting three points that could help secure their place in the Champions League.
During his press conference on Saturday afternoon, the Italian stressed that his side needed to get top four, even if a top two was a possibility. It is nothing new, but it never was going to be anything different in a game of this magnitude.
Game date: Sunday, April 26
Kick-off time: 20:45 (CEST)
**Venue:**San Siro
Referee: Simone Sozza (VAR: Abisso)
Team news
After the win last weekend, Allegri is likely to keep as many of the variables unchanged. It is his side’s first performance like that in a while, where they got over the line without conceding and whilst not beautiful to watch, it was massively important.
With Juventus’ attacking threat being well known too, across the front line, opting for a more defensive set-up is certainly going to be the preference again for Allegri, it seems.
Since last week’s win, things have settled slightly and whilst there has been the standard fallout from an unattractive win, there is nothing really new on the table. Perhaps things have progressed a little, but there are no major shakeups.
Indeed, the full squad have been at Milanello all week. So, the coach will have a full squad to utilise in Milano on Sunday evening. In other words, there can be no excuses in terms of selections if things go wrong.
Of course, questions can be asked about a few players, but that is standard. Should Zachary Athekame retain his place after an uninspiring performance at wing-back? Will there be any changes in midfield?
Finally, should there or will there be a change to the front two? Arguably, there should be, given Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao’s poor form. However, the alternatives are not viewed keenly by Allegri.
Throughout the week then, it has seemed like Allegri would be limited to a few changes, if any on Sunday and that same feeling is present ahead of the game.
Mike Maignan will retain his spot in goal after another clean sheet this needed, and the first in a while. Then, Allegri sees no reason to make any rotations at the back. Whilst you could make an argument for Koni De Winter, he will not displace Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia or Strahinja Pavlovic.
At wing-back, the Italian is expected to make a double change, with Alexis Saelemaekers making somewhat of an expected return to the starting XI, whilst Pervis Estupinan could make a rare start on the left.
In the midfield three, it is the standard again. Allegri will rely on his guys, meaning Luka Modric, Youssouf Fofana and Adrien Rabiot will be given starting roles.
Up front, it seems like the Diavolo are done with Santiago Gimenez and Christopher Nkunku, with reports suggesting that the club are hoping for offers this summer. Whilst their form is poor, that means it is a given that Pulisic and Leao will start again, even with the questions surrounding their futures.
Predicted Milan XI (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Estupinan; Leao, Pulisic
Predicted bench: Terracciano, Pittarella, De Winter, Odogu, Athekame, Bartesaghi, Ricci, Jashari, Loftus-Cheek, Nkunku, Gimenez, Fullkrug
Injuries & suspensions: None.
The opponents
In our preview ahead of the game earlier this season, we took a look at the business that Juventus conducted during the summer and there has been some changes since. The only addition to really make an impact so far has been Jonathan David.
Even then, though, the Canadian has had links away from the Allianz Stadium. So, he has hardly been a fantastic coup for the Old Lady. Additionally, they have no longer got Igor Tudor in charge, with Luciano Spalletti taking over.
Since the Italian’s arrival, the Old Lady have won 19 of their 33 games. So it is fair to say that he has turned around their season with a spot in the Champions League looking quite likely at this stage, one would imagine.
However, a loss at San Siro would throw them back into the mix, depending on how the rest of the chasers get on.
Since they last faced, only Napoli and Inter have picked up more points, so they are both deserving of spots in the Champions League. With both conceding 24 in 28, it is clear that they have had significant work done on their defensive structures, compared to last season.
In terms of the starting XI expected from Spalletti, the Italian is likely to name a more agressive team than his opposite. However, that is not too much of a surprise at all.
Di Gregorio keeps his spot in between the sticks, with Kalulu returning to San Siro as part of the back three, alongside Bremer and Kelly.
In midfield, Locatelli and Thuram will continue to be Spalletti’s base, with the pair impressing and dictating games regularly under the Italian, whilst McKennie will continue to play as a wing-back, opposite Cambiaso.
Leading the line, Kenan Yildiz returned to training late in the week and is expected to start, whilst Francisco Conceicao will look to impress in the stadium where his father managed 12 months ago. David will start as the number nine.
Predicted Juventus XI (3-4-3): Di Gregorio; Bremer, Kalulu, Kelly; McKennie, Locatelli, K. Thuram, Cambiaso; Conceicao, David, Yildiz
Predicted bench: Pinsoglio, Scaglia, Holm, Gatti, Koopmeiners, Miretti, Adzic, Kostic, Zhegrova, Boga, Openda, Vlahovic
Injuries & suspensions: Perin, Cabal, Milik
Head to head
Sunday’s game will be the 230th time that Milan and Juventus have faced off, making it the most played fixture in the club’s history, alongside Inter. The record, however, is slightly in the favour of the visitors.
With 89 wins and 74 draws, the Old Lady have historically had the better time of things, but recently that grasp has slipped. Of the past 10 meetings, the Rossoneri have won five, whilst the visitors have taken three.
It is no surprise that a draw has been played out in five of the last 10 meetings between the sides, with the most recent coming earlier this season. If Christian Pulisic had slotted his penalty home, who knows what would’ve happened.
Key facts and stats
➤ AC Milan are the side who have beaten Juventus most often in Serie A (53 times in 181 previous meetings – D59 L69), and also the team who have scored the most goals (227) against the Bianconeri in the competition’s history.
➤ Juventus have not conceded a single goal in their last five Serie A matches against AC Milan (W2 D3), which is already a record run for the Blanconeri against the Rossoneri in the top-flight. AC Milan’s last goal against Juventus in the competition was scored by Olivier Giroud in the 40th minute of the match in May 2023.
➤ Only once in their history have AC Milan gone longer without scoring in consecutive top-flight matches against a single opponent: between December 1935 and March 1938 against Triestina (run of six).
➤ Only Inter (35) have secured more home wins against AC Milan than Juventus (25) in the history of Serie A. Additionally, Juventus (107) and Inter (124) are the only two teams to have scored 100 or more goals away at AC Milan in the competition.
➤ After 33 league games, AC Milan have 15 more points than they did at this stage last season (66 vs 51); in the three-points-per-win era, the Rossoneri have only twice registered a better points increase between one Serie A season and the next after the same number of matches: +23 in 1998-99 compared to 1997-98 and +18 in 2003-04 compared to 2002-03 (+15 also in 2008-09 compared to 2007-08).
➤ AC Milan have lost two of their last four home Serie A matches (W2) with an aggregate score of 0-4; as many home defeats without scoring as they registered in their previous 45. Furthermore, after the 0-3 loss against Udinese, AC Milan could lose two consecutive home league games for the first time since October 2023, when they lost 0-1 twice against Juventus and Udinese.
➤ Juventus have won five of their last six Serie A matches without conceding a goal, including each of their last three by an aggregate score of 5-0. The last time the Bianconeri recorded four consecutive wins in a single edition of the competition was between February and March 2025 (run of five), while the last time they achieved this without conceding a single goal was between October and November 2023 (run of four), including a 1-0 away win against Milan.
➤ This match will feature two of only four managers to have reached 300 wins in Serie A history: Massimiliano Allegri (321, fewer than Giovanni Trapattoni’s 352) and Luciano Spalletti (302, level with Nereo Rocco). AC Milan’s manager will become the outright manager with the most games managed between the Rossoneri and the Bianconeri in the top-flight – 25 (currently 24, level with Trapattoni) – as well as already being the only coach in the competition’s history with at least 100 games with both Juventus (302) and AC Milan (166).
➤ AC Milan (104+60) and Juventus (121+58) are two of only four teams in Serie A this season to have registered 100+ Build Up Attacks (sequences of 10+ passes ending in a shot/touch in the opposition box) and 50+ Direct Attacks (sequences starting in their own half, with at least 50% of movement forwards and ending in a shot/ play in the opposition box) – Inter (141+62) and Como (103+55) are the others.
➤ Adrien Rabiot has scored 18 goals in 157 appearances for Juventus, making him the fifth-highest French goalscorer in the club’s Serie A history, behind Trezeguet (123), Platini (68), Pogba (28), and Zidane (24). Indeed, with six Serie A goals this season, only in 2022-23 (8, also for Juventus) has he scored more in a single top-flight Italian campaign and could become the first non-Italian player to score for both Juventus and AC Milan in Serie A matches between the two sides.
➤ Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz (born 2005, 20 years old) is the third-youngest player with at least 15 goal involvements in the big five European leagues (16 – 10 goals, six assists), behind only Lamine Yamal (26, born 2007) and Yan Diomande (18, born 2006). Since the start of the 1990s, only two Juventus players have scored against AC Milan in a Serie A match as an U21 player: Alessandro Del Piero on 15th October 1995 (20 years and 340 days) and Moise Kean on 6th April 2019 (19 years and 37 days).
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Ones to watch
For the hosts, it is a difficult game to pick out players to watch. However, the easiest of the bunch is Pervis Estupinan. The Ecuadorian is expected to start and a good performance may turn his fate around. After a goal against Inter earlier this year, he could be the man for the big games at San Siro.
Then, Alexis Saelemaekers must show that he has recovered from his recent form blip. He has been nearly flawless all season, but the Bianconeri will be dangerous on the wings. If he gives Yildiz a chance, it might be enough to change the game.
In terms of the visitors, it is best to start where we left off. Kenan Yildiz is a huge threat and if the Diavolo are not careful, he will punish them. Having returned to training in the late stages of the week, he may be a little rusty, but he only needs one chance.
Pierre Kalulu’s performance will also be one to watch. There has been a lingering feeling of regret since he left in the summer before last and if he shines at San Siro – as he has done regularly this season – that feeling will only deepen.
Prediction
With neither team massively desperate for three points, it could well be a cagey affair. After all, recent history has shown this to regularly be the case and it would not be a surprise if both coaches were happy to play out a boring game. Either team could snatch it, but whether they actively try to is something else entirely.
This may just play into Allegri’s hands, but it could well just be a case of a bore draw.
AC Milan 0-0 Juventus