AC Milan vs Juventus: Fonseca’s fate on the line in mammoth clash

Stadio San Siro forms the backdrop for a massive, heavyweight Serie A showdown between eternal rivals AC Milan and Juventus.

For those who enjoy watching live football on TV, Saturday’s encounter in Lombardy promises to deliver an exciting affair between familiar foes seeking much-needed points.

With The New York Times taking stock of his ‘Donald Trump’ celebration, Christian Pulisic returns to Milan in red-hot form.

The Liverpool-linked winger tallied a goal and an assist in the United States’ 5-2 aggregate win against Jamaica in their CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final tie.

Pulisic’s club form has been equally impressive, with the 26-year-old racking up seven goals and five assists from 15 appearances in all competitions this season.

Despite his outstanding offensive exploits, Milan entered November’s international break on the periphery of the European qualification spots after a 3-3 draw at Cagliari.

Visiting Juventus had better luck against crosstown rivals Torino, strolling to a 2-0 win at home to extend their lead over the Rossoneri to six points in sixth.

New manager Thiago Motta has not lost a Serie A game in charge of the record-time Italian champions.

However, he has overseen six draws in 12 league outings, leaving the Bianconeri two points adrift of table-topping Napoli ahead of this matchday.

It could all come down to this for Fonseca

Paulo Fonseca’s future at San Siro is under heavy scrutiny despite high-profile victories against Inter Milan and Real Madrid this season.

After failing to lead his side to three consecutive league triumphs for the first time since April, the Portuguese manager faces a potentially must-win task.

Milan slumped to a dismal 2-0 defeat to Napoli in their last home outing, relinquishing a three-match winning streak in such fixtures beforehand.

Though that run could still inspire confidence around the Lombard camp, it’s worth noting that the hosts have emerged winless from three of their last four home matches against Juventus (W1, D2, L1).

As if that’s not discouraging enough, Milan failed to find the back of the net twice across their last three top-flight meetings with the Turin giants in their home setting.

Stalemate specialists

As aforementioned, one of the main downsides of Motta’s early tenure at the Allianz Stadium has been Juventus’ inability to turn draws into victories.

Only Bologna and Empoli have drawn as many games as the Bianconeri in the opening 12 rounds, classifying this trend as a major issue for the highly-rated tactician.

Consistency has also been at a premium, with Juventus alternating between winning and drawing across their five Serie A road trips this season.

However, an almost impregnable defensive line remains a rare constant.

Juventus have already recorded nine clean sheets in Serie A this term, accounting for their best such run in the first 12 top-flight games since 2014/15 when they won the title.

Speaking of their defensive solidity, the visitors have not conceded on four of their five league travels, except for a memorable 4-4 draw on this ground against Inter last month.

Team News

Milan will be without several senior first-team stars on Saturday.

Alvaro Morata, Alessandro Florenzi, Matteo Gabbia and Ismael Bennacer are unavailable for selection.

There’s still a question mark over Theo Hernandez’s head after the French left-back picked up a minor knee injury during the international break.

As for Juventus, Arkadiusz Milik, Douglas Luiz, Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal will not travel with the rest of the squad.

The visitors suffered another injury scare earlier this week.

According to Calciomercato, star striker Dusan Vlahovic sustained a thigh problem during Serbia’s UEFA Nations League clash against Denmark.

Potential Line-ups

AC Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Emerson Royal, Malick Thiaw, Strahinja Pavlovic, Hernandez; Youssouf Fofana, Tijjani Reijnders; Samuel Chukwueze, Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao; Tammy Abraham.

Juventus (4-2-3-1): Michele Di Gregorio; Nicolo Savona, Federico Gatti, Pierre Kalulu, Andrea Cambiaso; Manuel Locatelli, Khephren Thuram; Timothy Weah, Teun Koopmeiners, Kenan Yildiz; Francisco Conceicao.