Two games. That is all Milan have left to prove that they can qualify for Champions League next year. In an ironic twist of fate, this past week, our hosts for this one were once again handed a points deduction for their systematic use of capital gains between 2018-2021. That ten point penalty pulled Juve out of top four and made room for Milan to take the fourth place spot... for now. But there is stiff competition for that spot, and every point will count in these last two matches, so it is very important for the team to show up. Unfortunately, the Curva Sud have said they will not to show up for this one, breaking their immense display of support this season to protest Juventus' criminally overpriced tickets and policies. That support alone could affect the outcome of this match, highlighting the importance of showing up.
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| Hope this is the Milan that shows up. |
Not only have Juventus had to suffer through yet another season of Allegri's creepy face and bizarre lineups, they have had one hell of a yoyo season overall. Between a lot of injuries, their entire board resigning, and being the subject of multiple investigations and points deductions, their fortunes are as opposite as they could be from their historic run of nine straight Scudetti. As we mentioned on the latest podcast, their future is not looking any better, either.
Juve crashed out of the Europa League semifinal to Sevilla the same week we got knocked out of Champions League. Their current league form is D-W-W-W-L. That loss was a 4-1 loss to Empoli on Monday, which came minutes after learning about their ten point deduction. That dropped Juventus into seventh place on the table, with 59 points.
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| There are no words. |
For their loss to Empoli, Allegri lined up Szczęsny; Gatti, Bremer, Alex Sandro; Barbieri, Miretti, the traitorous former Milan midfielder Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostić; Milik, and Vlahović. Allegri has three players who will definitely be missing, as their seasons are over due to injury: Pogba, Fagioli, and some guy who once wore the Milan shirt called De Sciglio. Also in doubt as of this writing is Vlahović, who has not been training the past few days because of a strained tendon.
Pioli will definitely be missing Ibrahimović and Bennacer. It is unlikely that Vranckx or Origi have recovered from their injuries from last week, while the return of Rebić and Florenzi are more likely, although unknown as of this writing. Florenzi was spotted in training with the team on Friday. Rebić is infamous for scoring against Juventus, although coming off of injury and having not scored in a while, it is less likely that he could repeat one of his epic performances on Sunday.
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| If rumors are to be believed, this could be his last chance to score against Juve in a Milan shirt. |
With a full week to recover since the win over Sampdoria, it is hopeful that the team will be fully rested and mentally prepared to show up in Turin on Sunday. We know that they know how to beat them. Juventus were demoralized on Monday, but may be ready to fight back on Sunday, knowing that if they cannot have Champions League next year, they can at least try to take our chances of qualifying away from us. Can Milan pull off a victory without their fans, though? They haven't ever had to worry about that this season. Hopefully they can win in spite of everything, but you can never take for granted the importance of showing up.