On Thursday, 25 April, Juventus will host Milan as part of the 34th round of the Italian Serie A. While 'Rossoneri' gifted Inter the Scudetto at San Siro last Monday, 'Juve' made it to the finals of the Coppa Italia this week, thanks to a goal scored at the end of the match against Lazio.
After having fought with Inter for the Scudetto in the first half of the season, Juventus significantly fell behind their competitor in 2024. The 'Old Lady' now ranks 3rd in the Serie A table and is 10 points ahead of Atalanta, who are in sixth place. Champions League qualification is quite possible, but understandably, the current dynamics are concerning for the tifosi. Juventus only won 2 out of their last 12 championship matches, drawing 6 and losing 4. After a precious 1-0 victory against Fiorentina, Max Allegri's team had to settle for draws against Torino (0:0) and Cagliari (2:2) last weekend. Last week, Juventus lost 2:1 in Rome to Lazio but still managed to reach the Coppa Italia final (2-0 win in the first leg) thanks to Arkadiusz Milik, who scored just moments after being subbed on.
Importantly, Juve has managed to maintain an impressive home form, losing only once in their last 16 championship matches at the Allianz Stadium this season. The coaching staff will not be able to count on striker Moise Kean, who is recovering in the sanatorium from an injury; and let's not forget the lengthy suspensions of midfielders like Pogba and Fagioli. Nevertheless, Allegri will be able to rely on his strongest squad. We will surely see Serbian Dusan Vlahovic (16 goals and 4 assists) spearheading the attack, and he may be complemented by Chiesa (7 goals and 2 assists). Locatelli and Rabiot, the latter with 4 goals and 3 assists, will govern the gameplay in midfield.
Although Milan has not joined the Scudetto race this season, a ticket to the Champions League is virtually guaranteed. The Lombards currently occupy 2nd place in the Serie A table, leading their nearest competitors by 5 points. Last Monday, 'Rossoneri' lost to 'Inter' at home with a score of 1:2, which allowed the 'Nerazzurri' to celebrate the championship conquest in front of their eternal enemies. This result ended a positive streak of 7 unbeaten championship rounds (5 wins, 2 draws). In added time during the derby, there were three dismissals, and Theo Hernandez with captain Davide Calabria will serve their suspensions in the upcoming round. Interesting fact: Milan has received the highest number of red cards in Serie A this season (eight).
In the Europa League, Stefano Pioli’s team recently suffered an ignominious quarter-final elimination after their confrontation with Roma (3:1 on aggregate). Milan's defense is severely weakened for the weekend: among others unavailable are Calabria, Tomori, Theo Hernandez, Kalulu, and Kjaer; not to mention reserve goalkeeper Mirante, who is injured and remains in the sanatorium. Malik Tiaw is expected to partner with Matteo Gabbia in the four-man defense, with Alessandro Florenzi assuming the lateral position. The Frenchman Olivier Giroud (13 goals and 8 assists), who was benched last Monday, may return to the starting lineup on Saturday and join wingers Pulisic (10 goals and 6 assists) and Leao (7 goals and 8 assists) in attack.
Milan is unbeaten in their last three matches at Allianz Stadium, having secured two victories. However, the first-leg match ended in a minimal 1:0 victory for the home team.
The hosts are eager to close the gap to the second place and compete for the silver medals in the current campaign. However, Allegri's team has had a draining Coppa semi-final match midweek and will not be in optimal shape. Considering the visitors have already lost their chances at the Scudetto and have numerous personnel losses, it makes sense to bet on a draw.
# | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | G | PTS | |
1 | Napoli | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 19:9 | 26 | |
2 | Atalanta | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 31:15 | 25 | |
3 | Fiorentina | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 25:10 | 25 | |
4 | Inter | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 26:14 | 25 | |
5 | Lazio | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 25:14 | 25 | |
6 | Juventus | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 21:7 | 24 | |
7 | AC Milan | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 20:14 | 18 | |
8 | Bologna | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 15:13 | 18 | |
9 | Udinese | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | -3 | 15:18 | 16 | |
10 | Empoli | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | -1 | 9:10 | 15 | |
11 | Torino | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | -3 | 15:18 | 14 | |
12 | AS Roma | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | -3 | 14:17 | 13 | |
13 | Parma | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | -2 | 16:18 | 12 | |
14 | Verona | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | -10 | 17:27 | 12 | |
15 | Como | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -10 | 13:23 | 10 | |
16 | Cagliari | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -10 | 12:22 | 10 | |
17 | Genoa | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -13 | 9:22 | 10 | |
18 | Lecce | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -16 | 5:21 | 9 | |
19 | Monza | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -5 | 10:15 | 8 | |
20 | Venezia | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -10 | 11:21 | 8 | |
1 | Lazio | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14:6 | 16 | |
2 | Napoli | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11:5 | 15 | |
3 | Atalanta | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20:8 | 15 | |
4 | Fiorentina | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14:6 | 14 | |
5 | Inter | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 16:9 | 14 | |
6 | Juventus | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9:3 | 13 | |
7 | Udinese | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8:6 | 12 | |
8 | AC Milan | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10:4 | 10 | |
9 | AS Roma | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9:7 | 9 | |
10 | Verona | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10:12 | 9 | |
11 | Lecce | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5:13 | 8 | |
12 | Bologna | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4:3 | 7 | |
13 | Torino | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5:5 | 7 | |
14 | Empoli | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1:4 | 6 | |
15 | Cagliari | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7:14 | 6 | |
16 | Venezia | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6:7 | 6 | |
17 | Parma | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8:10 | 5 | |
18 | Como | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7:10 | 5 | |
19 | Genoa | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6:12 | 4 | |
20 | Monza | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5:9 | 3 | |
1 | Napoli | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8:4 | 11 | |
2 | Fiorentina | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11:4 | 11 | |
3 | Inter | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10:5 | 11 | |
4 | Juventus | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12:4 | 11 | |
5 | Bologna | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11:10 | 11 | |
6 | Atalanta | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11:7 | 10 | |
7 | Lazio | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11:8 | 9 | |
8 | Empoli | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8:6 | 9 | |
9 | AC Milan | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10:10 | 8 | |
10 | Torino | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10:13 | 7 | |
11 | Parma | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8:8 | 7 | |
12 | Genoa | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3:10 | 6 | |
13 | Como | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6:13 | 5 | |
14 | Monza | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5:6 | 5 | |
15 | Udinese | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7:12 | 4 | |
16 | AS Roma | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5:10 | 4 | |
17 | Cagliari | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5:8 | 4 | |
18 | Verona | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7:15 | 3 | |
19 | Venezia | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5:14 | 2 | |
20 | Lecce | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0:8 | 1 |
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