AC MILAN v JUVENTUS: MATCH PREVIEW

A Sunday evening of great excitement. AC Milan take on Juventus at San Siro (20:45 CEST), a classic in Italian football, about to have its 177th chapter written. Domestic competition restarts after the international break and the Rossoneri kick off their big week against Juventus before heading to Paris to face PSG and then to the Maradona to play Napoli. The focus, however, is all on tonight's big match. 

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
The Rossoneri went into the international break with enthusiasm following the victory over Genoa, which took them to the top of the league after 8 matches, with a much-needed break. Now, however, Pioli is counting the list of unavailable players: Mike Maignan and Theo Hernández are suspended, which we've known since that night at the Marassi. The two Frenchmen will be joined by Samuel Chukwueze and Marco Sportiello, who will have to miss the next few matches due to muscular issues, whilst Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also not fully fit following his problem sustained against Lazio. Pierre Kalulu and Rade Krunić, who have been absent in recent outings, are available once more. 

In a press conference, Pioli introduced the game like this: "Complete faith in Mirante, who is an expert goalkeeper and is very reliable. We have prepared numerous situations, with or without Chiesa: if he plays, he completely changes Juve's style of play. In any case, we will have to be very precise and compact when we don’t have the ball."

LATEST FROM JUVENTUS
"If Athens cries, Sparta does not laugh," because it's not just AC Milan who are dealing with lots of absences: the Bianconeri will be without the injured Danilo, Alex Sandro, De Sciglio and the suspended Pogba and Fagioli. Massimiliano Allegri will have to assess the fitness of two attackers Chiesa and Vlahović, who had to miss the derby against Torino but should have recovered to face the Rossoneri. For the Bianconeri, four points off us in the league and fresh off three productive results in a row, Rugani could start whilst Weah and McKennie will be fighting for a spot on the right, with the latter also in contention for a spot between the three centre backs. 

Here's what Allegri had to say on the eve of the big match: "A great game, exciting, which will be played in the best condition, both physical and mental. At the moment, it’s first versus third, we know how hard it is to play at San Siro, it's great but at the same time, very difficult."

PRE-MATCH NUMBERS

• AC Milan are unbeaten in 5 previous matches (3W, 2D) against Juventus in Serie A; Pioli could become the first coach in Rossonero history to gain results in six consecutive matches against Juventus. 
• AC Milan have registered 4 clean sheets in their last 5 league matches against Juventus, including the last 3 games.
• AC Milan have won 7 of their first 8 matches (1L) this season; only on two occasions have they managed to win 8 of the first 9 in a Serie A campaign (in 1954/55 and 2021/22). 
• Pioli's team have the best shot accuracy in the league so far this season: 57% of the Rossoneri’s shots have ended up on target. 
• The first two of Fikayo Tomori's three Serie A goals came against Juventus from set pieces; the English defender boasts a record of three victories and one draw in his four matches played against the Bianconeri. 

WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN v JUVENTUS
In Italy, the match will be broadcast by DAZN. To watch AC Milan v Juventus in a different country, you can consult the "AC Milan on TV" webpage, clicking on the heading "Abroad". On the Rossoneri channels, Milan TV will provide live matchday coverage starting from 19:45 CEST and continuing up until shortly before kick-off. After full-time, there will be interviews and Coach Pioli's press conference. From 20.40 CEST, there will also be our Live Reaction show on our Twitch channel. Also, not to be missed is the coverage on acmilan.com, the AC Milan Official App and our official social media profiles.

LATEST FROM SERIE A
Maurizio Mariani di Aprilia has been tasked with refereeing the big match. The 41-year-old is an experienced referee who will be managing his 140th Serie A match today. As of now, he has refereed the Rossoneri on 17 occasions (11W, 2D, 4L), the last one coming in August in the 4-1 win over Torino. Interestingly, AC Milan's last match against Juventus was also refereed by Mariani, the 0-1 AC Milan win in Turin on 28 May 2023. 

From Saturday to Monday: Matchday 9 started yesterday, 21 October, with Hellas Verona 1-3 Napoli, Torino 0-3 Inter and Sassuolo 0-2 Lazio. Sunday begins with Roma 1-0 Monza at 12:30 CEST before Bologna v Frosinone and Salernitana v Cagliari at 15:00 CEST, Atalanta v Genoa at 18:00 CEST and AC Milan v Juventus. Udinese take on Lecce on Monday, before Fiorentina and Empoli round off the week. 

Here are the current standings: Inter* 22; AC Milan 21; Juventus, Napoli* and Fiorentina 17; Roma* 14; Atalanta and Lazio* 13; Monza*, Frosinone and Lecce 12; Bologna 11; Sassuolo* 10; Torino* 9; Genoa and Hellas Verona* 8; Udinese 5; Empoli 4; Salernitana 3; Cagliari 2. (* = one more game played)

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