Predicted Juventus lineup vs AC Milan: Juve looks to end Supercoppa struggles
By John Vaccaro
Juventus will make their 7th consecutive Supercoppa Italiana appearance on Wednesday, but their previous appearances haven’t been quite as successful as the campaigns that got them there.
Juve has lost their last 2 Supercoppa appearances and 3 of their last 4. However, they have looked absolutely unstoppable in Serie A competition this season and will be hoping that translates into a Supercoppa trophy.
They have had a historic start to the season with 17 wins and 2 draws in their first Serie A matches and they remain the only team in the top 5 leagues who hasn’t lost in domestic competition. Now they will look to add the Supercoppa Italiana as another feather in their cap.
AC Milan has positioned themselves well to make a push for a return to the Champions League, but they have had some recent struggles. Those struggles include a 3-1 loss to Olympiacos to send them out of the Europa League by the exact score the Greek team needed, a home loss to Fiorentina, and draws against Torino, Bologna, and 19th place Frosinone. They have won their last two against SPAL and Sampdoria and look to use that momentum to spoil Juve’s Supercoppa pursuits for the second time in 3 years.
For the match against Milan, Juve’s defense will return to full strength while their attack misses a key piece. Joao Cancelo returns after missing a month due to injury, but they will be without Mario Mandzukic and Medhi Benatia while they will also continue to be without Juan Cuadrado and Andrea Barzagli. In spite of Mandzukic’s absence they will continue to use the 4=3=3 formation as they seek their first trophy of the season.