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AC Milan delivered a decisive blow to Lazio's hopes of lifting their first Scudetto in 20 years after their impressive 3-0 win over the capital club. Now they welcome runaway leaders Juventus at the San Siro in their next Serie A fixture on Wednesday.
Juventus have been in impeccable form since the resumption of top-flight action in Italy and have maintained a 100% record thus far, extending their winning streak to seven games in Serie A.
Milan recently tasted defeat against Juventus in the Coppa Italia on penalties following a goalless draw in the second leg of the semifinal encounter. Stefano Paoli's men will be out to avenge their defeat in this upcoming fixture against the runaway Serie A leaders.
So with both the clubs looking strong heading into the fixture, here we take a look at the things to look out for before the two most-titled clubs in Italian top-flight go head-to-head on Wednesday.
AC Milan vs Juventus Head-to-Head:
These two Italian behemoths have locked horns 216 times in official competitions, with their first meeting happening in 1901. Juventus have had the upper hand with 86 wins, Milan have come out on top 61 times while 69 games ended in draws.
Their previous 15 Serie A meetings have all produced conclusive results, with Juventus winning 13 games and I Rossoneri only claiming two wins, both of them at the San Siro.
Juventus claimed a narrow 1-0 win over the home side in the reverse fixture at the Allianz Stadium earlier this season, though their two most recent games in the Coppa Italia both ended in hard-fought stalemates.
AC Milan form guide: W-D-W-W-L-D.
Juventus form guide: W-W-W-W-W-W.
AC Milan vs Juventus Team News
AC Milan:
AC Milan continue to be without the services of Mateo Musacchio, Leo Duarte and Samu Castillejo because of injuries. Midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, who scored the opener against Lazio, suffered a knock to his calf and had to be taken out in the 37th minute of that game as a precaution. It is expected that the Turkish international will recover in time to face the league leaders in this crucial fixture.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored on his return to the Milan starting XI for the first time after an injury spell. But that might not be enough for him to retain his spot ahead of top-scorer Ante Rebic who also found the back of the net against Lazio after coming on as a substitute.
Injuries: Samu Castillejo (thigh), Leo Duarte (hamstring), Mateo Musacchio (ankle).
Doubtful: Hakan Calhanoglu (knock).
Suspensions: None.
Juventus:
Apart from their long-term absentees Mattia De Sciglio, Alex Sandro, Sami Khedira, Giorgio Chiellini and Merih Demiral, Maurizio Sarri has no new injury concerns heading into the game against AC Milan.
The only expected change from Juventus' emphatic 4-1 win over Torino is the return of Wojciech Szczęsny to the starting XI ahead of Gianluigi Buffon.
Injuries: Mattia De Sciglio (thigh), Alex Sandro (ligament), Sami Khedira (thigh), Giorgio Chiellini (match fitness) and Merih Demiral (anterior cruciate ligament).
Doubtful: None.
Suspensions: Paulo Dybala, Matthijs de Ligt
AC Milan vs Juventus Predicted XI:
AC Milan (4-2-3-1): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Andrea Conti, Simon Kjaer, Alessio Romagnoli, Theo Hernandez; Franck Kessie, Ismael Bennacer; Alexis Saelemaekers, Lucas Paqueta, Hakan Calhanoglu; Ante Rebic.
Juventus (4-3-3): Wojciech Szczesny; Juan Cuadrado, Rugani, Leonardo Bonucci, Danilo; Adrien Rabiot, Miralem Pjanic, Rodrigo Bentancur; Cristiano Ronaldo, Douglas Costa, Federico Bernardeschi.
AC Milan vs Juventus Prediction:
The recent form of both AC Milan and Juventus indicates that we are in for a blockbuster matchup. Attackers of both the sides have looked sharp in front of goal, and the duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala has combined devastatingly for I Bianconeri.
Their recent meetings in the Coppa Italia semifinal ended in draws mainly because of the defensive solidity of Simon Kjaer and Alessio Romagnoli for the home side. So, despite both teams in fine goal-scoring form, we expect this game to be a low-scoring one ,with a slight advantage to Juventus because of their better recent form.
Final Verdict:- AC Milan 1:2 Juventus.
