AC Milan vs. Juventus: Pre-Match Notes

Juventus travel to the San Siro on Saturday night to take on league leaders AC Milan. Juventus sit one point behind Milan with a game in hand and have defeated Milan twice already this season—once in the league and once in the Coppa Italia.

Milan is attempting to win back-to-back championships, while Juventus is having its strongest showing since the club returned to Serie A in 2007. The Old Lady is undefeated this season and have kept that streak alive with timely defending, an impressive attack and one of the most underrated young managers in Europe. 

Here are some notes to consider before these two giants of Italian football meet on Saturday night.

15 Dropped Points Against Top-Seven Clubs

Despite being league champions, in first place and thrashing Cesena last week, Milan hasn't performed well against Serie A's top sides this season. 

The black and red have only picked up 9-points from a possible 24 against the top seven clubs in Serie A. Meanwhile, they've dominated the lower sides in the table. It's true they don't have to beat the likes of Juventus, Inter or Napoli to win Serie A, but it certainly helps. 

A win would put Milan five points clear with 13 matches to play. Milan only have to play two more teams in the top seven while Juventus must play four top seven teams. This could favour Milan down the stretch, but they do have Champions League football to play as well.

Milan is at home for this match, and will have a frenzied San Siro to back them. Unfortunately, Juventus defeated the Milanese club at San Siro 16 days ago in the Coppa Italia. The pressure didn't phase them then, and won't this time either.

No Ibra!

The former Juventus striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss this affair due to a three-match ban for slapping Napoli's Salvatore Aronica on February 5. This is his third match of the ban, and he will return to action next week. 

Without their main man, Milan looked pedestrian against Udinese and needed a late winner from Stephan El Shaarawy. However, last week the club looked impressive against Cesena—following their Champions League humbling of Arsenal and the English press—but Juventus is a different animal all together.

Milan rely heavily on their big Swede to not just lead the line but to set the tempo of the match. Maxi Lopez will most likely get the start with Ibrahimovic suspended, and despite being maligned by supporters and the press, Lopez has been good thus far. 

He will, however, be going up against Serie A's top defence...

Serie A's Best Defence

Juventus come into this fixture with the league's best defence, having only given up 14 goals on the season. That's seven better than Milan, who have the second best defence and have only given up 21 goals. 

The defence has been anchored by Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli. Three defenders who have been fantastic throughout the season but have been constantly criticised. Despite their individual shortcomings as players, the three have played excellent football as a group. 

Behind them is goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon—a player that will go down in history as one of the best—who is benefiting from being fully fit for the first time in a few years. 

Throw in a hard working midfield and Juventus is a team that works together, never relying solely on individual parts.

Pirlo

After 10 years with Milan, a time in which he won two Scudetto, two Champions League titles, one Coppa Italia and two UEFA Supercups, Andrea Pirlo was allowed to join Juventus for free last summer. 

Since his debut in September, Pirlo has been integral to his new club. Like Buffon, this is the first time in a couple seasons Pirlo has been near full fitness, and he has made many wonder what Milan was thinking when they allowed him to leave. 

Pirlo's role has been to sit deep in the midfield and to orchestrate the attack using his pinpoint passing. In 22 games he has six assists and got his first goal of the season last week—a 30-yard strike against Catania. 

Pirlo played well in their earlier meetings, and if Milan want to stop Juventus they have to first stop Pirlo. However, if he is allowed the space and time to pass, the Bianconeri will pick up their third win of the year against Milan.

Old Heads, Tired Legs

Milan is a club that still relies heavily on older, experienced players. They are still getting quality minutes out of Mark van Bommel, Clarence Seedorf and Massimo Ambrosini and though that's not a bad thing, the old legs sometimes fail to match up with the league's quicker sides. 

Last week, Milan featured a starting XI with several younger players, however, that may have been down to Massimiliano Allegri resting his older stars. Regardless of his decision, January loan signing Sulley Muntari and Urby Emanuelson shone in Milan's win.    

Allegri's choice of players this week will depend on three obvious things: Injury, suspension and tactics.  

Tactics

Allegri may favour a defensive lineup against Juventus. In their last meeting, Milan lined up with two defensive midfielders, van Bommel and Ambrosini, protecting Seedorf. 

However, Allegri has more options with a fit Kevin Prince-Boateng and could choose a more attacking lineup.

Emanuelson, who signed from Ajax in 2011, has played behind the two strikers as the trequartista most recently. After some abject performances in the position, he has adapted well to the role. His pace is an upgrade from that of Seedorf, who may be selected to play deeper in the midfield.

Regardless of Allegri's tactical decision, Juventus manager Antonio Conte will attack. Conte favours to attack and set the tempo of matches, which is something Milan must prevent them from doing. Juventus controlled both fixtures this season by pressuring the midfield.

Winner and Losers

This match won't determine who wins Serie A. That will be decided in the 13 remaining matches this season.

Both teams have other factors that could affect who wins the Scudetto. Milan is still in the Champions League, while Juventus will meet Milan one more time this season in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal. 

Barring a minor miracle, one of these two teams will hoist the trophy in May. This year's run-in will be an exciting ending to a fantastic Serie A season that began with Milan winning the Super Coppa Italia in Beijing.