Juventus vs Milan: Spalletti Misses Seven Players as Amorim Travels With Near-Full Squad

by Geoffrey Ejiga | by Geoffrey Ejiga

image Juventus vs Milan: Spalletti Misses Seven Players as Amorim Travels With Near-Full Squad
Both teams have won their opening two matches, bagging six points each. But Juventus go into tonight's Matchday 3 clash at the Allianz Stadium with seven players missing through injury, including Kenan Yildiz (fractured metatarsal, out three months) and Khephren Thuram (omitted from the 25-man Serie A squad entirely). The final blow was Jonathan David leaving on loan to Atletico Madrid on deadline day. Ruben Amorim's AC Milan, by contrast, arrive with a near-full squad and no significant injury concerns. But I Rossoneri play visitors to the Old Lady, who are unbeaten in seven of their last eight Serie A games.
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Six Points Each Ahead of Matchday 3

Juventus beat Frosinone 1-0 on the opening Serie A weekend and followed it with a 2-0 home win over Parma, keeping clean sheets in both. Luciano Spalletti's side have looked solid and organized, with Gleison Bremer anchoring the defence and Douglas Luiz looking more comfortable than at any point during his difficult first spell at the club.

Milan, meanwhile, have been just as efficient. A 2-1 derby win at Torino on the opening day showed grit under the new coach Amorim. And a 2-0 home victory over Venezia on Matchday 2 gave Gonçalo Ramos his first Serie A goal.

Both teams also share a goal difference of +3, so there’s really not much to separate them, making for a tricky matchup.

Be sure to check out our Juventus vs AC Milan prediction before you bet.

Juventus: The Injury List That Keeps Growing

Spalletti is missing seven players for a match that deserved two full-strength squads.

Yildiz is the biggest loss. The 21-year-old winger fractured his metatarsal and will be out for up to three months. Thuram is sidelined for several months with a serious injury and has not even been registered in the 25-man Serie A squad.

And deadline-day signing Pape Matar Sarr has a muscle injury that rules him out before he has even made his debut.

Juan Cabal and Jeff Ekhator are long-term absentees. Meanwhile, Andrea Cambiaso sprained his ankle against Parma and is unavailable. Weston McKennie is also training away from the main group, so he’s already in doubt.

On top of all that, David left on loan to Atletico Madrid on September 1, removing the player who started both of Juve's opening matches.

Milan: Near-Full Squad, Full Confidence

Amorim has no significant injury worries and a near-full squad that has responded well to his ideas in the opening two weeks:

  • The Portuguese, who replaced Allegri after his sacking in May, has started with two wins and four goals.
  • While the defence has looked organised behind Mario Gila, Koni De Winter and Strahinja Pavlovic.

The main tactical change expected tonight is Adrien Rabiot replacing Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has been below expectations in the first two matches. Rabiot made two strong cameos off the bench and is pushing for his first start.

And leading the forward line will be Ramos and Alphadjo Cisse, with Rabiot supporting from behind.

Samuel Chukwueze holds the right wing-back spot, while Pervis Estupinan is ahead of Davide Bartesaghi on the left. Diego Moreira, a new signing, is waiting for his first minutes, and loan arrival Omari Hutchinson is expected to be available from the bench.