Serie A Preview: Juventus - Milan

Serie A Preview: Juventus - Milan

The first encounter between Juventus and Milan this season took place on December 1, 2007, and they played one of the most exciting scoreless draws in recent memory.

The two clubs were firing on all cylinders in attack, with both goalkeepers (Dida for Milan and Gianluigi Buffon for Juventus) having to be at their best to keep the score sheet blank.

Juventus nearly drew first blood, when David Trezeguet hit a clean strike that came back off of the goal frame, and partner Vincenzo Iaquinta could not put away the rebound. Milan almost took the lead through Clarence Seedorf, but his toe-poke went just wide. Despite numerous other scoring chances, the two sides went into halftime with no goals.

In the second half, these teams picked up right where they left off at the break, and each pressed toward goal to try and win. Hasan Salihamidzic was only denied by a diving save from Dida. Then, after Kakà’s shot was saved by Buffon, Alberto Gilardino put the rebound into the net, but was flagged for offside.

The end-to-end action continued right up until the final whistle, but neither side could break the deadlock in this scoreless draw at the San Siro.

Saturday Night Special

The biggest rivalry in Italy resumes this Saturday when Milan make the short trip west to Torino, with these being the two most-successful clubs in Serie A history.

Juventus, against all odds, have dazzled and surprised pretty much everyone this season. Despite losing several star players due to their relegation to Serie B two summers ago, they were able to hold onto many of the key members of their squad, and have not skipped a beat in re-acclimating to life in Italy’s top division.

Currently sitting in third place, many prognosticators did not think Juve could immediately be right back near the top of the table, just as they were perpetually before their relegation. Winning the 2005 and 2006 Scudetti (although these titles were later stripped due to the Calciopoli scandal), they dominated the league, despite having close competition from Milan for both of those trophies.

Their play this season has been very good for the most part, and quite reminiscent of how they played in those previous title-winning seasons. Despite losing the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gianluca Zambrotta (among several other key players), their attack has not suffered. The Bianconeri are the third highest scoring team in Serie A, behind only Roma and Inter, who happen to be the only sides ahead of them in the standings.

The main reason for this continuity in scoring prowess has been the resurgence of Alessandro Del Piero. After being left for dead by managers in previous seasons and only used in short spurts, he has regained the form that saw him become an idol for Juventus supporters the world over. This was clearly demonstrated when he scored two goals in the 3-2 loss away to Palermo last weekend. If not for the incredible exploits of Amauri for Palermo (who scored twice himself in that match), then Del Piero very well could have been the hero once again.

Juventus look to have secured third place in the standings, even if Fiorentina are only two points behind them. Juventus have a match in hand, because of the postponed fixture against Parma two weeks ago. The way they have played this season, you would have to think that the Bianconeri will pick up enough points in their remaining matches to hold onto that third spot, which would send them back into the Champions League after two years away from the competition.

As for Milan, the casualties continue to pile up, and they will again be shorthanded in this match. Already missing Ronaldo, Marek Jankulovski, Massimo Oddo, Emerson and Serginho for large portions of the season, they now will also be without the likes of Alessandro Nesta and Kakha Kaladze in defense, who are both suspended.

Not only that, but Alexandre Pato, who was unavailable for last weekend’s 3-1 win over Cagliari, has not recovered from a thigh strain, and will more than likely have to watch this match from the stands. This means that Milan will use the same formation they trotted out last weekend, with Kakà in a more advanced role alongside Filippo Inzaghi.

However, if they can put together a display against Juventus like they did in the win over Cagliari, then they won’t have to worry too much. Kakà was simply brilliant in that match, and did anything he wanted to with the ball. He was a constant threat to the Cagliari backline, and scored the opening goal of the match with a shot from distance after one of his now trademark long runs.

This was followed up by two goals from Inzaghi, the second being his sort of trademarked effort. His first goal was a quality headed-ball into the corner of the net, with Cagliari foolishly leaving him unmarked in the box. For his second goal, he rounded the goalkeeper, then fired a beautiful shot inside the far post, with two defenders back defending in front of goal.

This recent upturn in play could not have come soon enough for Milan. They are four points behind Fiorentina for fourth place, which is the final Champions League berth. With only six matches remaining (that includes this upcoming fixture versus Juventus), they basically have to win all of their remaining matches, or at least not lose any of them, to overcome the deficit in the table.

FORM GUIDE (last five fixtures)

Juventus

3/9 Genoa 0-2 Juventus Serie A

3/16 Juventus 1-0 Napoli Serie A

3/19 Empoli 0-0 Juventus Serie A

3/22 Inter 1-2 Juventus Serie A

4/6 Palermo 3-2 Juventus Serie A



Milan

3/15 Roma 2-1 Milan Serie A

3/19 Milan 1-2 Sampdoria Serie A

3/22 Torino 0-1 Milan Serie A

3/29 Milan 1-2 Atalanta Serie A

4/5 Milan 3-1 Cagliari Serie A

TEAM NEWS

Juventus

Cristiano Zanetti is the only player who will definitely be out of this match, as he is still recovering from injury. Pavel Nedved, who sustained a knock to his head in the loss to Palermo last weekend, is also out. Jorge Andrade is missing for the rest of the season,.

Amazingly, Juve have no fewer than ten players who are one yellow card from receiving a suspension?they are: Giorgio Chiellini, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Pavel Nedved, Zdenek Grygera, Raffaele Palladino, Antonio Nocerino, David Trezeguet, Cristiano Zanetti, Jonathan Zebina and Hasan Salihamidzic.

Milan

Marek Jankulovski and Serginho are injured. Ronaldo and Massimo Oddo are out for the rest of the season. It remains to be seen if Alexandre Pato will be ready to go for this match.

Milan’s first-choice central defensive pairing of Alessandro Nesta and Kakha Kaladze are suspended for this match, while Gennaro Gattuso, Giuseppe Favalli and Massimo Ambrosini are one yellow card from a suspension.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus) – The manner in which he has played recently has made him indispensable for Juve. His brace against Palermo last weekend proved to all his critics that he still has plenty left in the tank.

Paolo Maldini (Milan) – He very well could be playing against Milan’s eternal opponents for the last time, after having done so previously on a staggering forty-two occasions. Il Capitano always steps up his game when playing against Juventus, and one should expect no less in this fixture.

POSSIBLE STARTING XI’s

Juventus (4-4-2): Buffon; Zebina, Legrottaglie, Chiellini, Molinaro; Camoranesi, Sissoko, Tiago, Salihamidzic; Del Piero, Trezeguet

Milan (4-4-2): Kalac; Cafu, Bonera, Maldini, Favalli; Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf; Kakà, Inzaghi

PREDICTION

Both of these clubs will go all out to secure victory in this match, with a lot at stake, especially since it takes place so late in the season. For Juventus, a loss could open up the possibility of them needing to pick up results in their remaining matches to secure third place in the standings and Champions League football for next term. For Milan, they need to win this match, as time is growing short for them to reach fourth position in the standings, which also brings with it participation in the premier European club competition.

This is arguably the most important match in Italy this weekend. However, that’s not to say there will actually be a winner.

Juventus 2-2 Milan

Joel Whitehead