Italian top-flight football comes from Turin on week 37 of a league title race that has been over for many months. Napoli hit the front early, and despite being eliminated from the Champions League after beating Liverpool to the top spot in Group A, they will end as deserving champions of Serie A. It has been a one-horse race for much of the campaign, with Napoli already 17 points better than nearest rivals Juventus in second place with Lazio another point behind in third. Napoli is the champion, but which team will finish second?
This weekend brings many exciting games, and if you look at the bottom half of the division, you’ll see just three points stand between relegation-threatened Hellas Verona and Lecce in 16th. No club is safe until the finish line. But we focus on the race for a top-four finish and place in next season’s UEFA Champions League. The Old Lady is unbeaten in four league games as they finish strong, while Milan has won just two of their last five, dropping to fifth place. They must win on the road to save their season and qualify for Europe’s elite.
Juventus and AC Milan are amongst Italy’s most famous and successful teams, so it is no surprise to learn they have met many times in crunch fixtures. This will be the second clash of the campaign after Milan won 2-0 at home in October, thanks to goals from Tomori and Diaz. The points were gift-wrapped to Milan inside 55 minutes, and they defended well to hold their position and win the game. Will this be a repeat performance, or can Juve return on level terms for the season?
Juve land a timely treble
Juventus holds the home advantage as they aim to make up for that earlier defeat to Milan and claim their first win against the side since January 2021. That drought consists of two defeats and a pair of draws, with Juve failing to score in three games and managing just one goal in four. That’s something the locals must tackle before the stats get any worse, but do they have the firepower to shoot their way to three points, or is that European hangover still holding them back?
They have reason to enter confidently after piecing together an impressive four-game unbeaten run in the league with a draw closely followed by three wins. The nine points gained pushed Juve onto 69 points which is currently one more than Lazio in third place, with Inter Milan three points behind and the visitors sitting in fifth with five fewer points than their hosts. We expect a grandstand finish to the season with plenty of twists and turns in the closing games.
Bet hereJuventus made it three wins from three last time out when sweeping past Cremonese at this venue with relative ease. The goals that won that game were scored by Fagioli and Bremer, both hitting the target in the second half. Since adding that win, Juventus suffered the pain of defeat in the semi-final of the Europa League over two legs against Spanish La Liga outfit Sevilla. The victors progressed to the final of a tournament that has given them success in the past, but that didn’t make things any easier for fans of The Old Lady, who had been dreaming of glory on the continent.
Milan is playing catch up
AC Milan started the 2022/23 season as one of the pundit’s picks to challenge for the league title, but things haven’t gone to plan for the club. Instead of breathing down the necks of eventual champions Napoli, Milan has spent most of this year scrapping for a top-four finish. The visitors know they must climb at least one place higher in the pecking order to bank their place in the Champions League next season. Failure to make it into Europe’s elite would hit the club where it hurts most, their budget for new players.
Milan travels to Turin with 64 points on the board thanks to 18 wins, 10 draws and eight losses with 60 goals scored and 42 conceded. They have been in and around the top four for much of this campaign but are in danger of falling off that perch when it matters the most. AC has won two, drawn two and lost one of their last five games as they stumble towards the finish line. Anything other than three points here would see them miss out on that all-important fifth place finish.
Fans travelling from Milan to Turin will take a degree of hope from their team’s crucial win against Sampdoria last time out. Despite holding the home advantage that day, Milan started on the back of a painful 2-0 loss away to Spezia in the league and 3-0 aggregate defeat to Inter Milan in the semi-finals of the Champions League, two results that took the wind from their sails. But do they have the character and drive to fight back and end on a high? We’ll find out from 19:45 GMT on Sunday.
Juventus v AC Milan prediction
This promises to be a captivating 90+ minutes of football from the top tier of the game in Italy involving two giants of Serie A. Regardless of the final score, both teams know they weren’t at their best this season and AC understand leaving it so late in the day to secure a top-four finish is their own doing. They’ll aim for much better next season following a strong summer.
Juventus is higher in the table and enjoys the home advantage and that may be enough tl see them safely to all three points. A home win is a strong possibility here according to the pundits and sportsbook traders.
Serie A odds
All registered members of 22Bet can make predictions and place bets on this game. Juventus backers will find the home win at 2.26 while victory on the road is 3.184 and a draw will net you 3.36.
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