SERIE A ADVANCE – Juventus-Milan is no longer a championship challenge but it is still a classic one

Once he decided on the Scudetto, but today he "only" puts 3 points up for grabs. Yet Juventus-Milan is always Juventus-Milan, that is, a great classic of Italian football. In the weekend that sees big matches all over Europe (Arsenal-Tottenham and Everton-Liverpool in the Premier League, Atletico Madrid-Real Madrid in the Liga, Lyon-Psg in Ligue 1), Serie A showcases the 216th challenge between bianconeri and rossoneri, the 160th in the league. Difficult to extrapolate the match from the context of the standings, which sees the Lady in the lead with 50 points and the Devil eighth with 29. The gap of 21 points perfectly reflects what we have seen so far: Allegri's men were devastating, Inzaghi's stammering. Juventus clearly favored therefore but certain matches, as we know, live on their own light, which is why in the Turin area there is an order to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground. “It's always Juve-Milan, and then they, in addition to having won the last game, made an excellent transfer market – thought Massimiliano Allegri. – I am convinced that, in the end, we will find them again in Europe, it's not that in a month they have lost all their qualities. Inzaghi then has all the qualities to do well: I no longer think about our disagreements in the past, I look forward". A lot of fair play will certainly have been appreciated at Milanello, where Allegri has nonetheless left a good memory, but no one is under any illusions: the Juventus coach will not give any discounts. “It's the most difficult game that could happen to us – admitted Mauro Tassotti, yesterday in the conference replacing the feverish Inzaghi. – They score a lot of points and concede few goals, I think they have one of the best defenses in Europe. Playing in their stadium is very difficult, but we are ready to battle. We will have to play with order, intensity and aggression for ninety minutes: by doing so we will have a chance of winning”. Milan therefore believes in it, despite the difficult moment (the victory over Parma certainly didn't cancel the black January) and the objective emergency that has been afflicting Milanello for some time. Between injuries (Montolivo, De Jong, El Shaarawy, Zapata, De Sciglio, Bonera, Abate) and suspensions (Mexes and Destro), there will be 9 players that Inzaghi will have to do without. Luckily for the Devil there are the new signings Antonelli and Paletta, who will immediately be thrown into the fray. In fact, they will make up the defense together with Zaccardo and Alex, behind a midfield that will see Poli, Essien and Muntari. In attack, however, there is a decent choice, so much so that Cerci and Pazzini will sit on the bench to watch Bonaventura, Menez and Honda, with the former grenade ready to take over the match in progress. Some problems also for Juventus, forced to add Caceres (muscle fatigue) to the list of unavailable together with the long-term patients Asamoah, Marrone, Romulo, the new signing Matri and the suspended Lichtsteiner. Despite the absence of the Swiss, Allegri seems oriented towards preferring the 4-3-1-2 to the 3-5-2 in Udine. On the right it will therefore be Padoin's turn, for the rest all confirmed with Bonucci, Chiellini and Evra in defense, Marchisio, Pirlo and Pogba in midfield, Vidal attacking midfielder behind Tevez and Morata (favorite over Llorente) in attack. Three points would weigh a lot for both, goals in hand but the match seems slightly more important for Juve. In fact, a success would send Roma to -10, albeit with one more game: in short, the pressure would be all for Garcia and his team. “It's not true that we've already won the championship, we still need a lot of victories to reach the fateful 94 points – retorted Allegri. – Roma are still in the fight for the title as are Napoli, who in my opinion can make a great run-up”. However, Juve is always in the lead, moreover unbeaten against Milan for over 2 years.