AC MILAN v JUVENTUS: OPPONENT REVIEW

Two of the best teams in the league face each other on matchday 9 in Serie A this weekend, with leaders AC Milan taking on third-placed Juventus. The Rossoneri and Bianconeri are about to meet for the 177th time in the top flight, after following similar paths but with very different ideas. Pioli's team, thanks to a 1-0 win in Genoa last time out, went top of the table to complete an excellent start to the campaign, after clinching seven wins out of nine games played. Juventus arrive strongly in Milan following their superb win in the derby against Torino, giving them 17 points in the table and boasting an encouraging pattern: in the last three Serie A seasons, no team has won more matches after the international break (seven like Roma), with only two defeats.

AC Milan are proactive and offensive; Juve balanced and organised: two very different approaches, which also largely reflect the way the two coaches, Stefano Pioli and Massimiliano Allegri, see the game. The current Head Coach of the side from Piedmont has nine successes out of 18 to his name against AC Milan in Serie A (3D, 6L): Allegri can become the sixth coach to reach double figures for victories against the Rossoneri in the competition after Trapattoni (15), Spalletti (15), Felsner (12), Weisz (11) and Bersellini (10). Allegri, who was Head Coach of AC Milan 133 times in Serie A, is the coach to have won the most number of games against Stefano Pioli in the top flight (eleven) 11, with five draws and two successes for the Rossoneri coach completing the record.

SAME OLD JUVENTUS
This Juventus side seems to reflect, in various ways, the Livorno coach's identity. The numbers show that no team has obtained more clean sheets in 2023 in Serie A than the Bianconeri (15, the same as Napoli); they also haven't conceded in their last three league games: Danilo and his teammates have not had four in a row since achieveing eight between October 2022 and January 2023. This is a Juventus side that is tight, solid, combative and very alert, considering that they are one of six teams in Europe's top-five leagues in the 2023/24 season to have not yet conceded a goal from a set-piece (the last goal let in by the Bianconeri from a dead-ball situation dates back to May 2023 against Empoli).

They are a team that sits back and tries to hit their opponents on the break; they are not a possession-based nor high pressing side: this is highlighted by them having only taken two shots after winning the ball back in an attacking position, just one more than Salernitana. On the other hand, AC Milan is second in losing fewer offensive recoveries in this season's edition so far. If there was a flaw to find in Juventus' effective defence, we could look goals conceded from long-range distances: the Bianconeri have let in four goals from outside the box in this year's Serie A, more than any other team. Allegri's players concede very few opportunities from close-range (only two goals conceded in the 18-yard area), but do allow their opponents to have attempts from outside the box, and AC Milan boast several specialists from 25/30 meters.

RABIOT IS BIANCONERI'S LEADER
If Federico Chiesa remains a doubt until the last minute, Juventus' other top scorer this season has recovered from lower back pain, which had prevented him from joining Serbia, during this international break. Dušan Vlahović has been involved in four goals in his last three matches against AC Milan in Serie A (two goals and two assists), and played his first-ever six matches in the competition with Stefano Pioli as head coach, with Fiorentina between September 2018 and April 2019. The Rossoneri boss is well aware of the Serbian striker's qualities, who must dispel a real taboo: in Italy, San Siro is where Vlahović has played the most minutes in all competitions without scoring (370).

The other Bianconeri threat is called Adrien Rabiot, who scored his first goal in the Italian league against AC Milan on 7 July 2020, and who is one of four midfielders to have played every minute in Serie A so far (720 minutes, as has Cristante, de Roon and Frendrup). In addition, since the start of last season, only Koopmeiners (twelve) and Zaccagni (eleven) have scored more goals than the Frenchman (nine), among midfielders, in the top flight. Muscles and physical strength have helped Rabiot's growth, who will need the support of a former player in the midfield. In fact, Manuel Locatelli's first 48 appearances in Serie A came wearing the AC Milan shirt between 2016 and 2018: he also grabbed two goals, including one against Juventus on 22 October 2016 to give the Rossoneri a 1-0 win. This historical link shouldn't cause attention to drop ahead of such a tricky fixture.

Match Kits, clothing, accessories, gift ideas and much more: visit AC Milan online Store!