Juventus v AC Milan: Preview
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After a hard-fought 2-2 draw, Juventus will be looking to make a late surge to get back into the Champions League, while AC Milan will try to put the Bianconeri back on top of the table.
Juventus will start their quest for a second consecutive Serie A title on Tuesday against AC Milan in the Milanello Stadium.
Juventus will be without their top scorer, Andrea Barzagli (leg), and will need to find the balance between the attacking prowess of Paulo Dybala and the attacking qualities of Arturo Vidal in the midfield.
Juve's defence will be the real test as they will be forced to cope with a Milan side who are yet to concede a goal in Serie A, having made just two in the league this term.
AC Milan will be hoping to keep pace with the Biancons in the top-four, with Gianluigi Donnarumma's side having scored eight goals in the last five games, while Alessio Romagnoli's side are bottom of the league with three wins and three draws.
With the exception of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's hat-trick against Manchester City on Sunday, the striker's form this season has been the catalyst for his side to leapfrog AC Milan.
The Ivorian has netted 14 goals in 14 games, and while Milan have conceded just two goals, they will need a good result to keep their title hopes alive.
In the final round of the Champions Leagues, AS Roma face AC Milan on Sunday in the second leg of their semi-final.
The Rossoneri will look to get their second consecutive win in the semi-finals as they attempt to get on top.
AS Roma will be backed by the fact that they are still in the race to win the league, and are looking to win in front of a home crowd.
They have not conceded a goal so far this season, having managed just four in their last six league games.
The last time Roma had to play in front a home audience was in December 2011, when they lost 2-1 to Napoli in the Champions Europa League.
As far as the teams in Serie B are concerned, AC Milan have been unable to break down Juventus in the opening weeks of the season, and AS Roma will need an impressive performance against Juventus to stay in the mix.
Milan are without their leading goalscorer, Romagnololi, and have conceded four goals in their first three Serie A matches.
After a hard fought 2-0 win over Napoli last weekend, the Rossoneris look set to face a Milan team who are without a win in their past four matches.
However, the Biancanas are without the best striker in the world in the form of Vidal, while Mario Balotelli has been out with an injury.
Parma are set to play their Champions League opener at home to Napolo on Wednesday, and will be seeking to keep a clean sheet to stay up.
There will be a lot of pressure on the Rossonians to get the victory as they are on a six-match losing streak.
The hosts have scored just once in their four league matches so far, losing 2-3 to Napolos.
Mesut Ozil has been at the heart of a great defensive display for the Rossoni this season.
The German has scored four goals this season and has only conceded two goals in all competitions, while he has also scored against Juventus and AC Milan so far.
It will be interesting to see how the Milanese will handle their visitors this season in the competition, especially since the last time these sides met in the quarter-finals was in 2012.
Napoli are on the back foot after a disappointing 0-2 defeat to Roma, while AS Roma have managed just one win in four matches, losing 5-0 to Inter.
Despite their impressive form, Juventus are looking for a much-needed win over the Rossoneis to make the playoffs, and it will be crucial to stay top of Serie A this season if the Rossona are to get into the quarter finals.
More from Football Italian: Milano 2-4 Napoli: Champions League preview article "It's a very difficult game, we know we can beat them, but they are not always at home.
We will have to show our character and make them understand the importance of the games we play.
This is what we want to achieve, to be on top, so we need to show that we are ready."
Juve will be trying to get another win at home in the first leg of the semi finals on Wednesday.
The Bianconers will be on the defensive and will look for a clean-sheet, but their attack will need all the help they can get, as the home side has conceded just one goal sofar in Serie D. Vidal's hat trick against Manchester was a catalyst for the Biancocelani