AC Milan will welcome Juventus to the San Siro on Thursday night in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semifinal match.
Juventus’ form has suddenly slipped with two losses in their last three fixtures in Serie A. The Bianconeri are second in Serie A due to goal difference and that form could follow over into the Coppa Italia.
Maurizio Sarri is under pressure at Juventus as he is butting heads with everyone at the club just like at Chelsea last season. There are many fans and pundits calling for his sacking in the offseason, and a poor performance in the Coppa Italia could increase the pressure on him.
AC Milan have improved since the arrival of coach Stefano Pioli. However, last weekend AC Milan experienced a setback in Serie A losing 4-2 to Inter Milan in the derby.
The Rossoneri were up two goals at halftime but allowed Inter Milan to score four times in the second half to lose the match.
Juventus have dominated their series of matches versus AC Milan in recent time. They are unbeaten in 10 straight games with nine consecutive matches finishing in victories. AC Milan’s last win versus Juventus came in October 2016 in Serie A, 1-0.
Sarri is facing a number of injuries at Juventus as the season wears on. The most recent is to Douglas Costa who suffered yet another injury versus Hellas Verona last weekend. Aaron Ramsey could also miss out after the summer 2019 signing was labelled a flop.
Ramsey could lead the exodus of players Juventus will sell in the summer. Giorgio Chiellini and Merih Demiral are both out long-term offering limited centre-back options for Sarri.
AC Milan are without Rade Krunic due to a foot issue. He is expected to miss four weeks of games. Full-back Andrea Conti is ruled out. Pioli is likely to play a 4-2-3-1 formation versus Juventus with Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the attack.
Both Samuel Castillejo and Hakan Calhanoglu will play behind Ibrahimovic as AC Milan’s playmakers. The formation is a tweak of Pioli’s preferred 4-4-2 but against Juventus, he will add five midfielders to slow down the opposition.
Thursday night’s match at the San Siro is a classic Coppa Italia semifinal between two Italian giants. Juventus’ record versus AC Milan does not bode well for the home side. It should be a cagey match with a single goal separating the two sides.
Expect Juventus to claim victory in the first leg away from home with under 2.5 goals scored.
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