Juventus vs. AC Milan: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Having delivered the intensity of the Rome derby in the final round before the international break, Serie A returns with an equally passionate clash as Milan visit Juventus Stadium on Saturday evening.
Both clubs have endured difficult starts to the 2015/16 campaign, and this encounter will provide a stern test of their recent good form. The Rossoneri arrive in Turin on a five-game unbeaten run, with coach Sinisa Mihajlovic having finally discovered a viable tactical approach for his side.
His 4-3-3 formation helps provide service to leading scorer Carlos Bacca but perhaps exposes a weakness in midfield where Milan lack overall quality and inventiveness. The Colombian has scored six of the club’s 15 league goals thus far, yet they have conceded 16 in the opening 12 rounds of the season.
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Juventus will hope to expose that defensive fragility, although the emergence of 16-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma has been a major boost for the visitors. The goalkeeper has kept two clean sheets in his first four appearances, with the Rossoneri having failed to record a shutout before his debut.
Injuries and bad luck have hit Juventus hard this term, but the Bianconeri also appear to have turned the corner in recent weeks, victory over Empoli in their last outing seeing them record back-to-back Serie A wins for the first time.
“It is a final because of how we are doing in the standings,” Alvaro Morata said when La Gazzetta dello Sport asked him about the meeting with Milan. “It is our Clasico due to the history between the two teams.”
That is undoubtedly true, and when the game gets underway, both teams will be desperate to take all three points and continue their climb up the table while damaging the prospects of a genuine rival.
Date: Saturday, November 21, 2015
Time: 7.45 p.m. GMT/2.45 p.m. ET
Venue: Juventus Stadium, Turin
TV Info: BT Sport 1 (UK) beIN Sports 2 (U.S.)
Live Stream: BT Connect (UK)
Form Lines
Last five domestic results:
Probable Formations
Juventus (4-3-3): Gigi Buffon; Stephan Lichtsteiner, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Patrice Evra; Sami Khedira, Claudio Marchisio, Paul Pogba; Juan Cuadrado, Alvaro Morata, Paulo Dybala
Unavailable: Martin Caceres, Kwadwo Asamoah, Simone Padoin and Roberto Pereyra (all injured)
Milan: (4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Ignazio Abate, Alex, Alessio Romagnoli, Luca Antonelli; Juraj Kucka; Riccardo Montolivo, Giacomo Bonaventura; Alessio Cerci, Carlos Bacca, M'Baye Niang
Unavailable: Jeremy Menez, Nigel De Jong, Mario Balotelli, Andrea Bertolacci, Diego Lopez (all injured)
Key Battle
If Milan are to emerge from Juventus Stadium with a positive result, they will need Gianluigi Donnarumma to shine once again. As previously mentioned, the 16-year-old has quickly become a key figure for the Rossoneri, with ESPN FC showing he has made 11 saves in his first four professional matches.
He was deservedly handed a place in the recent Italy Under-21 squad and admitted to Sky Italia (h/t Football Italia) that “there is a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.” Donnarumma went on to say he needed “to improve in many areas,” and Juventus will have no shortage of players looking to test his ability.
Chief among them is perhaps Alvaro Morata, a striker who has yet to recapture his own previous good form. His performances this season were analysed in greater detail in this previous column, but the man himself believes now he is fully healthy that a return to peak condition is sure to follow.
“Honestly, I had some problems physically,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I played with several problems and that is why I struggled. I haven’t been able to play a full match. Now I am well and you will see that on the field.”
“I hope he has a great career,” Morata added when asked about the prospect of facing Donnarumma, “but that everything goes well once his match against us is over!”
Player to Watch
While Donnarumma has been the one attracting major attention, Alessio Romagnoli also deserves credit for his role in Milan’s recent good form. Former club AS Roma revealed via their official website that the Rossoneri paid them a €25 million fee for the young defender who impressed with Sampdoria last term.
They did so believing he was a sound long-term investment, with CEO Adriano Galliani telling their own official website that in time he would become “one of our leaders, one of those great defenders from the Milan school, one of those to be proud of at San Siro.”
After his shaky start mirrored that of Milan in general, Romagnoli has slowly begun to repay that faith, playing in every minute of their five-game unbeaten streak alongside a variety of partners in central defence.
According to statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, the 20-year-old has averaged 1.5 tackles, 2.2 interceptions and 5.6 clearances in his 11 appearances, and he will need to be aware of the danger men in the Juve attack.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Away win: 19-4
Home win: 4-7
Draw: 3-1
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