Juventus vs AC Milan

Juventus and AC Milan face-off in the big match of week 33 in Serie A. The two sides come into the derby under very different circumstances as the rossoneri were able to hold serve at home last week while Juventus suffered and unexpected defeat away from home in a lively match against Palermo.

Juve are currently in 3^rd place of the league table with 58 points on the year. They sit 10 points back of 2^nd place AS Roma while maintaining a 2 point edge on 4^th place Fiorentina. They have one match in hand on both clubs. Last week, the side managed by Claudio Ranieri came away with 2-3 loss from their visit to Palermo at the Renzo Barbera. The loss snapped a 4 match unbeaten run for the vecchia signora which had seen them concede just 1 goal over that span. This week Andrade and Zanetti have been ruled out due to injury but the rest of the squad is available for the derby. Look for Sissoko, Nedved, Trezeguet and Alex Del Piero to start.

The rossoneri are coming off of an important win at home over Cagliari by a score of 3-1 at the San Siro. It was a huge victory for Milan as it allowed them to keep pace with 4^th place Fiorentina and they remain alive in the chase for the final remaining Champions League slot. AC Milan now sit in 5^th place of the league table with 52 points and sit just ahead of 6^th place Udinese on goal difference. The win was only the second in 5 matches for Carlo Ancelotti’s squad. AC Milan have been hard hit by injury during this recent poor stretch and this week there will be a number of absences as well including the injured Ronaldo, Oddo, Jankulovski and Pato while Nesta and Kaladze are suspended. The suspensions will force Ancelotti to go with veteran Paolo Maldini and Bonera at the center back positions while Pippo Inzahgi and Kaka’ will be in the striker positions.

While a derby is usually hard to call given all the factors that come into play when club’s of this stature face-off, Juventus seem to have a big advantage in terms of personnel this week. Not only are they at home following a loss, but AC Milan will be missing key players from their back line and the likes of Del Piero and Trezeguet could have a field day for the home side.

Prediction: Juventus (2-1)