Juventus vice-president Pavel Nedved blames the fitness levels and lack of ‘combative’ approach for their poor season so far, but insists there’s time to turn it around against Milan and called Dusan Vlahovic ‘a little Ibrahimovic.’
It kicks off at San Siro at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT).
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the LIVEBLOG.
The Bianconeri went into the break for international duty in absolute crisis, but have resumed on the right track with victories over Bologna and Maccabi Haifa.
They are still trailing in the Scudetto race and therefore this trip to the Stadio Meazza becomes a big opportunity to get back up there.
“In football there is no time allowed, especially when you start badly. Now we are in a situation where we will try to recover points and this is more important a game for us than Milan, because we are lagging behind,” Nedved told DAZN.
Max Allegri said that Rafael Leao is the most decisive player in the Milan squad, do Juventus have someone who can turn a game?
“I agree with Max, because Rafael Leao is a decisive player and a good chunk of the Scudetto is down to him. We have players who could become like him, they are on the right track, such as Dusan Vlahovic. We must remember he is young, as is Moise Kean, so we must wait for them to flourish.
“I see a little Ibra in him. He is not yet the Ibra of today, but he has the potential. Milik is more mature, he likes to track back and help the midfield more, while Vlahovic is stronger at running into space. So together they work well, that’s why we signed Milik.”
Juventus undoubtedly started badly this season in Serie A and the Champions League, but what caused these setbacks?
“It is never good to seek alibis, but we did evaluate everything, the players and what we might’ve done wrong in building the team we gave to Massimiliano,” confessed Nedved.
“We are still at a phase of the season where we can recover and have a strong season. Setting aside the injuries, we have not yet seen the team that we had in our minds. I’ll be honest, I saw a squad that was weak in the tackle, not physically strong or combative, didn’t move smoothly. If you are not combative at Juve, you don’t win games.
“There is still time to fight, win back points, starting from today, and then we’ll see at the end how we’ve done.”
Nedved can keep dreaming!!