AC Milan travel to Turin on Wednesday for the first leg of the Copa Italia quarter-final showdown. They are currently on a poor run of form in the league, having won only one of their last five games. Also, in their last five games, they have drawn two and lost two, losing the last one to Napoli at home. Sure, they beat Juventus in their first league game of the season, and also to lift the Super Cup in December, but this fixture will be a different affair altogether.
Juventus are a more consistent team now and will be looking to avoid being dumped out of a quarter-final by the same club that prevented them from winning a trophy less than a month ago. Vincenzo Montella is determined to make AC Milan a force to reckon with in Europe again, but he hasn’t had much luck achieving that so far, with the club currently lying seventh on the table, eleven points from the summit and seven points from Champions League places.
Juventus, on the other hand will be very confident going into this having won their last game against Lazio to put the disappointment of their loss to Fiorentina behind them, keeping a clean sheet in the process. Massimo Allegri is doing a fantastic job at the club, and his side currently lie at the top of the Seria A table, leading AS Roma by one point with a game in hand. The old ladies have lost in their last two meetings with the Rossoneri in the league in the Supercoppa Italiana final, so they will be going into this determined to avoid a third occurrence.
On a head to head basis so far this season, AC Milan are winning and will be boosted by the fact that they have won twice already this season; but on team strength, Juventus are still clear favourites. Juventus are missing a few players. Claudio Marchisio and Lemina are still out injured, and Mehdi Benatia is at the ongoing African Cup of Nations. However, they do have their key first-teamers available and enough quality in the side to cause Milan a few problems and likely win the fixture.
AC Milan are also missing some players, Matias Fernandez and De Sciglio are out injured, but Niang should be back in contention for this one. Gerard Delofeu’s medical should take place today, and he could be available, although the chances are slim.
Any other day and one would outrightly call this in Juventus’ favour, but considering the results of their meetings so far this season, an AC Milan win won’t be exactly surprising. That notwithstanding, Juventus are still clear favourites, and they will be determined to make the third time a charm. They also have the home advantage and will be hoping to put themselves on the strong foot going into the return fixture.