Hassan Chamas


What: Italian Serie A
Who: Juventus vs AC Milan
When: Sunday 10th January, 2010, at 20:45 CET
Where: Stadio Olimpico, Turin, Italy

Win or Bust

The win over Parma might have been the life-line Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara needed, but the Old Lady legend will know perfectly well that he will need more than an own goal help to claim second spot in Serie A, especially against a rejuvenated and impressive AC Milan. Milan stepped their game up a level, largely due to the second coming of David Beckham and his contribution in the 5-2 demolition of Genoa.

Generally, it’s been a disappointing season for Juve, considering the amount of hype they received over the summer: Diego and Felipe Melo went from heroes to want-away stars, Ferrara’s ambitions of emulating Josep Guardiola have not gone smoothly, and their Scudetto hopes are hanging by a thread. However, a win over Milan this Sunday would earn them second spot, and a chance to partially salvage their season.


Only a Hiccup?

By thrashing Genoa, AC Milan showed that their 2-0 defeat to Palermo was only a lapse of concentration. Against the Rossoblu, Leonardo’s team wasted no time in inflicting a heavy defeat upon their visitors, even with Alexandre Pato watching from the stands.

Particular superstars that were on form for the Rossoneri were old La Liga foes Ronaldinho and David Beckham, the latter marking his second coming to the red side of Milan after a successful spell under their previous manager Carlo Ancelotti a year ago. Beckham displayed some of his good football on Wednesday night, with Fabio Capello stopping by the San Siro especially. Should he continue his fine form, then Beckham will be on course for his fourth World Cup.

 

 

Recent form

Juventus:
Bari 3-1 Juventus (Serie A)
Juventus 1-2 Catania (Serie A)
Parma 1-2 Juventus (Serie A)

Milan:
FC Zurich 1-1 Milan (Champions League)
Milan 0-2 Palermo (Serie A)
Milan 5-2 Genoa (Serie A)


Key absences

Juventus: Vincenzo Iaquinta; Mauro Camoranesi; Gianluigi Buffon; David Trezeguet; Martin Caceres (suspension) Mohamed Sissoko (African Cup of Nations)

Milan: Massimo Oddo; Oguchi Onyewu; Daniele Bonera; Clarence Seedorf (doubt); Alexandre Pato (minor doubt)


Players to watch

Juventus – Diego: This match is do-or-die for the former Werder Bremen man. His career in Italy has been one to forget so far and a series of commanding displays, especially against the likes of AC Milan is definitely needed should he want to make it to South Africa 2010.

AC Milan – Ronaldinho: For those who thought the ex-Barcelona wizard was finished, a series of stellar performances for Milan this year confirmed the opposite: The old Ronnie is back. Perhaps not as dazzling as he was during his successful Camp Nou days, he remains nonetheless one of the team’s focal points.

Match prediction

Both teams made headlines on Wednesday for different reasons. AC Milan looked good to go for the rest of the season, while Juventus could steal a much needed three points to put their league quest back on track. However, it is hard to see the Old Lady putting one over their great rivals given how things have been going lately for the Lombardy club, and as such, Milan can squeeze the win out in Turin.

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