**It’s a big one at San Siro! AC Milan are up against Juventus and as you would expect, there are several interesting player battles to delve into.**
Milan bounced back with a crucial win against Hellas Verona last weekend, following two consecutive defeats. Currently, they are three points ahead of Juventus in fourth, meaning the Bianconeri have an opportunity to leapfrog them tonight.
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Since the reverse fixture ended 0-0, whoever wins tonight will get the H2H advantage in the standings, and that says a lot about the importance. The [**starting XIs will likely matter a lot**](https://sempremilan.com/gds-xis-milan-juventus-estupinan-nod), as will the individual battles on the pitch.
**AC Milan vs. Juventus: The five key battles**
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Starting at the back from Milan’s perspective, **Strahinja Pavlovic** will have an important role in both phases of the game. His trademark runs up the pitch can make a big difference, but the biggest task will be in the defensive phase.
Indeed, the Serbian will be up against **Francisco Conceicao**, who’s absolutely brilliant when it comes to quick turns, acceleration, and skill. It’s something that the Milan defender has struggled with before, even if we have also seen him cope in similar situations.
On the other side of the defence, **Fikayo Tomori** will have a point to prove ahead of the summer, especially since he has been linked with an exit. As we know from previous big games this season, though, he can definitely step up when needed.
And step up he will need to do, as **Kenan Yildiz** will be looking to exploit all the space left by the Englishman. He’s undoubtedly Juve’s best player and that hasn’t just been established by how he has played, but also his output: 11 goals and 10 goals this season.
Moving on to the midfield, **Adrien Rabiot** scored the winner last time out and will continue to play an important role tonight, taking on his former side. It could be a very physical one in certain periods, but luckily he has the size and awareness to shine here.
Most of the time, the Frenchman should move on the left-hand side of the pitch and that means he will face **Manuel Locatelli**, the former Milan player (roles reversed!). He’s not afraid to get stuck in and can also be a threat in attack.
Sticking to the left, **Pervis Estupinan** looks set to get the chance from start, which is a bit of a surprise. He scored in his last big game at San Siro though, finding the back of the net against Inter, so perhaps Massimiliano Allegri is looking for a similar effect.
He will be up against **Emil Holm** on that flank, which won’t be an easy battle. The Swede is quite face and definitely has strength on his side, so Estupinan might struggle in pure 1v1s. With some skill, however, he can exploit the Juve man’s relative inexperience.
Finally, **Rafael Leao** will want to get going again in front of the home fans, having provided an assist last time out. We can only hope that this has boosted his confidence as Milan could really use his X-Factor tonight, starting alongside Christian Pulisic.
It will be up to his former teammate, **Pierre Kalulu**, to stop him. They both know each other very well after the years spent at Milan together, so it will make for an interesting matchup. The Frenchman can be prone to mistakes at times…