Max Allegri’s men dropped two points when they last took to the field, as an uncharacteristically below-par performance saw them draw 1-1 with Udinese on Sunday afternoon. Second-placed Roma’s 2-1 home defeat by Napoli meant Juve actually increased their lead at the summit of the standings, however, with the defending champions now eight points clear with 11 matches of the season remaining. It is too early to proclaim Juve as title winners, but it is also extremely difficult to envisage a squad full of talent and experience throwing away such a sizeable advantage. Allegri may have half an eye on his side’s upcoming meeting with Porto in the Champions League, but the Bianconeri’s home record – Juventus have astonishingly won each of their last 30 top flight matches at home – means they will still be confident of defeating their upcoming opponents in front of their own supporters.
Milan were much closer to the top of the table when these two teams locked horns in October, a match in which the Rossoneri upset the odds to win 1-0 at San Siro. Their subsequent slip down the standings has not come as too much of a surprise, though: Milan were not expected to challenge for the championship crown at the start of the campaign, and their focus in the final few months of the season is on securing a Europa League qualification spot. Vincenzo Montella’s charges are currently seventh after 27 games, with two points separating them from the all-important fifth place, although they will find it difficult to narrow that gap this weekend.
Juventus will have to make do without the services of central defender Giorgio Chiellini (thigh) and winger Juan Cuadrado, who is suspended for one game. Allegri will continue with the attacking 4-3-3 formation he has favoured in recent weeks, with the ex-Milan boss having impressively succeeded in squeezing each of Mario Mandzukic, Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala into the same front three.
Milan, meanwhile, will be unable to call upon Luca Antonelli (calf), Ignazio Abate (eye), Riccardo Montolivo (knee) and Giacomo Bonaventura (thigh), but wide man Suso is expected to recover from a thigh problem in time to feature. Montella also employs a 4-3-3 configuration, with a midfield three of Jose Sosa, Manuel Locatelli and Andrea Bertolacci, and a forward trio of Suso, Carlos Bacca and Gerard Deulofeu.
Taking everything into account, it is difficult to look past yet another victory at home for Juventus on Friday night. Allegri’s side have been so dominant at the J-Stadium in recent years and, even if they rotate their starting XI with the second leg against Porto in mind, the champions and table-toppers will surely have too much quality for Milan. The Rossoneri could get on the scoresheet, though, so a Juve win with both teams to find the back of the net could be the way to go from a betting perspective.
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