On Sunday night, the San Siro Stadium will witness one of the most classical battles in Italian football.
After sharing the spoils at the Allianz Stadium earlier this season, Milan will be looking to rebound following their shocking defeat at the hands of Spezia, while Juventus will be eager to maintain their positive run and remain in a striking distance behind for the top four spots.
Beating his old employers won’t be an easy task for Max Allegri, but the Bianconeri must believe in their chances and try to pounce on the hosts’ weak points.
So here are three keys to victory for Juventus in their big weekend clash.
Hold Pioli’s Left Flank
While Zlatan Ibrahimovic remains the star of the show, the 40-year-old now has a tendency to drift in and out of matches in order to conserve energy.
Now surely he remains a MAJOR threat in front of goal, but Milan’s most terrifying duo is arguably Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao.
These two can cause havoc on the left flank against any opponent, which is why the Bianconeri’s right side must be bolstered with fast and strong players who can limit the young pair’s threat.
Taking Advantage of the defensive Absentees
Without Simon Kjaer and Fikayo Tomori, Stefano Pioli has a major headache at the back.
Alessio Romagnoli has been decent lately, but the young Pierre Kalulu can be a liability at in center defense – After all, the young Frenchman is originally a right back.
Therefore, the Juventus strikers should do their best to pounce on Kalulu’s inexperience which could be prove to be the easiest path towards goals on Sunday.
Preventing Fouls and Handballs
Although we’re not adopting a conspiracy theory or claiming that something fishy will take place at the San Siro, we all know what happened during the match between Milan and Spezia.
Referee Marco Serra’s blunder may have costed the Diavolo the match, and despite his later apology, his still got suspended for it.
Therefore, the atmosphere at the San Siro well be boiling in anger, making life harder for designated match official who will probably try to avoid another fan riot at the Giuseppe Meazza.
So if Juventus players give him a reason to blow his whistle and signal a penalty kick or perhaps a second bookable offense, he surely won’t be thinking twice.
