Fixture: Juventus vs AC Milan
Competition: Italian Super Cup 2016
Date: Friday, 23th December, 16:30 GMT
Stadium: Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (Al-Sadd Stadium) (ad-Dōha (Doha)).
Juventus and AC Milan meet in Qatar on Friday as they battle for the Supercoppa Italiana. This competition is quite different from the English or European counterpart. While most countries make this game the curtain-raiser to their season, it’s been moved to the end of the year in Italy. Another difference sees the Coppa Italia runners up, not the second placed side in the league, facing the league and cup winners. That’s how Milan have made it to this clash.
Juventus are aiming to wrap up an impressive year with victory in this game. They started 2016 by overhauling Inter at the top of Serie A, and they went on to claim a fifth consecutive league title, before winning the Coppa Italia. They end the year seven points clear at the top of the table, while they’re the only side who managed to top both their domestic league and Champions League group this term. Adding a third piece of silverware would be the perfect way to sign off before the winter break.
Juve have a great chance to claim this trophy, after their opponents’ had trouble just making it here. Their plane to Doha was cancelled on Tuesday, meaning the champions had an extra day in Qatar to prepare for this clash. Milan were so outraged with their cancelled flight that they threatened to pull out of the trip altogether. It’s clearly left them frustrated, and it gives the Rossoneri even less time to acclimatise in the Middle-East.
Milan have hit a bit of a blip of late, so this isn’t the best time for them to face Juventus. They’ve failed to win either of their last two games, failing to score in both. That’s seen them slip to fifth in the table, despite having spent much of the year in the top three. While they were flying high in a Champions League spot they managed to claim a 1-0 win over the champions. However, it’s hard to see them repeating that here. Their 1-0 loss to Roma showed they’re not great at shading these big games.
This is likely to be another cagey game, like Milan’s trip to Roma, or Juventus’ 1-0 victory over the Giallorossi last weekend. Matches between the Rossoneri and the Old Lady tend to be tight, with just three of their last 11 encounters seeing over 2.5 goals scored. The champions also have the know how to grind out a win, especially against a Milan side who have had their problems just getting here.
HEAD TO HEAD
Milan won the last meeting between these two 1-0 at the San Siro in their first clash this term. However. Juventus have won five of the last six encounters between these two.
JUVENTUS VS AC MILAN STATS
Juventus have won 82% of their games in Serie A this season. They’ve also scored one goal or fewer in 62% of their matches away from the Juventus Stadium. 43% of the champions’ wins this term have been to nil.
JUVENTUS TEAM NEWS
Defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Dani Alves are missing out here, although Andrea Barzagli is back for this clash. Defensive midfielder Rolandro Mandragora is a doubt for Friday’s match.
AC MILAN TEAM NEWS
Full-back Davide Calabria and midfielder Riccardo Montolivo are both unavailable for their trip to Qatar.
JUVENTUS VS AC MILAN PREDICTIONS :
Full time Result : Juventus win
Goals : Under 2.5