Big-money duels at both ends: The five key battles in Juventus vs. Milan
SempreMilan · Oliver Fisher · 2026-09-06T12:06:08+00:00 · nguồn gốc
AC Milan face a big early-season test this evening as they take on rivals Juventus at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.
Milan have started the season in ideal fashion, winning both games against Torino and Venezia. However, Juventus have also opened the campaign with consecutive wins, so the game this evening will be a first proper test for both sides.
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Juventus vs. AC Milan: The five key battles
Adrien Rabiot both scored and provided an assist in the previous away match this season (against Torino), and he could become the first non-Italian player in Serie A history to score in a Juventus-Milan match with both teams (Manuel Locatelli and Leonardo Bonucci have achieved this in the last 10 years).
He is expected to be the attacking midfielder on the right side, so will face off against Juve’s new summer signing Jhon Lucumi. The centre-back was actually linked with Milan and should operate on the left of the pairing, and will be tasked with watching Rabiot’s movement in and around the box, particularly his back-post runs.
In the midfield, there will be a battle of Milan’s present and their past as Luka Modric faces off against Manuel Locatelli. The Croatian continues to put in high-level performances even approaching 41 years of ago. He is showing no signs of stopping and looks like being vital in the midfield double pivot under Ruben Amorim.
Locatelli meanwhile is someone that Milan fans know well, given he came through the academy. As mentioned above he has scored twice in this fixture – once for the Rossoneri, once for the Bianconeri – and both were winning goals. He will look to limit Modric’s influence and also cause issues with box-crashing runs at the other end.
Goncalo Ramos made a good impression in front of the Milan fans at San Siro last Friday night, scoring his first goal with a lovely angled shot against Venezia. He had missed a few chances before that but stayed in the game and got his reward, but tonight he could begin to show why the club invested over €70m to sign him, with a big goal (or several) in a big game.
On the flip side, Gleison Bremer will be the man hoping to keep Ramos quiet. The Brazilian centre-back scored Juve’s winner against Frosinone in round one so he is also a threat from set-pieces, though the priority will be making sure that the Portuguese centre-forward is not given the level of service he was last week.
At the other end, Randal Kolo Muani will lead the line for Juventus, after being their big investment of the summer window. He is yet to get off the mark, but this would be the perfect occasion for him to start endearing himself to the home fans once again.
Koni De Winter is almost certain to be the starting middle centre-back for the Rossoneri given Matteo Gabbia’s injury. Although Milan have only conceded once in their first two games the Belgian has looked a little shaky at times, so this will be a good litmus test.
Finally, on Milan’s left side there could be a fascinating duel between Francisco Conceicao and Diego Moreira. The Belgian is yet to appear since his €50m move from Strasbourg, yet Amorim is tipped to show faith from minute one in the left wing-back role. It will be an audition of sorts, given there has been more talk of Moreira playing on the right side.
Conceicao meanwhile is always a very tricky customer coming in off the right side for Juve. Strahinja Pavlovic will help the defensive effort in that sense, but Moreira will have to track back and help out while timing his runs forward to create overloads and provide service.