AC Milan take on Juventus on Sunday night at the San Siro, knowing a defeat could officially confirm bitter rivals Inter as Serie A Champions.
The destination of the Serie A title has been known for months, however, if Inter Milan beat Chievo in Sunday’s early kick-off, and then Juventus beat AC Milan in the evening match, then Inter will be ten points ahead of their city rivals, with only three games to play, and thus Champions of Serie A for a fourth successive season.
Whilst there is ultimately very little AC Milan can do to prevent Inter winning the league, they will not want to hand it to them, especially at the San Siro. Therefore, Sunday’s match against Juventus, which would normally be a dead rubber, should see a monumental effort from Milan, and so they should reward backers at odds of 5/6 (Bet365).
Juventus manager, Claudio Ranieri is likely to be fired at the end of the season, and reports have suggested that in the last four matches, he will be battling to save his job, but with Juventus virtually confirmed as third place finishers, it seems there will be little more the ex-Chelsea boss can do in Serie A to change the chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc’s decision. A victory for Juventus (50/13, Expekt) over second place AC Milan would help restore some pride, though given Milan’s imperious home record, Juve’s best hope on Sunday could well be a draw (5/2, Bet365).
AC Milan have lost only once at the San Siro all season, and that was back on the opening day of the season. Since that loss, to relegation threatened Bologna, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have won fourteen and drawn only two matches in front of their own fans, conceding just six goals in the process. Indeed, it is their defensive strength at the San Siro which has propelled them into second place in Serie A, and those who once again fancy the Rossoneri to keep a clean sheet can get very enticing odds of 9/4 (PaddyPower) on a Milan win to nil.
Alternatively, there could be those who fancy Juventus to repeat their four-two win at the Stadio Olimpico earlier this season, though odds of 200/1 (Boylesports) are probably a good illustration of the possibility of the result. More prudent gamblers will be looking at a Milan victory by either a margin of one-nil (13/2, SportingBet), two-nil (15/2, SportingBet) or even, for those who fancy Juventus to get a goal, two-one (15/2, SportingBet).
In that crazy four-two victory, it was Juventus talisman Alessandro Del Piero (8/1, Boylesport) who opened the scoring, and along with Amauri (15/2, Boylesports) he offers the Old Lady’s best chance of breaking the Milan rear-guard. Veteran midfielder Pavel Nedved has announced that he is retiring from football at the end of the season, although the thirty-six year old Czech proved last weekend he still has great ability, with two goals against Lecce, and can be backed at 12/1 (PaddyPower) to mark the first of the game this week.
It is another veteran, striker Filippo Inzaghi (11/2, Bet365) who offers Milan’s most potent goal threat. The thirty-five year old marksman has scored five goals in his last three games, and is currently forging a devastating partnership with young Brazilian Alexander Pato (11/2, Bluesq). With Pato’s compatriot, Kaka (11/2, Boylesports) pitching in from midfield, Milan should not have any problems in finding the back of the net on Sunday. England fans may, however, want to look past those three, and instead plump for a patriotic punt on David Beckham (14/1, Bluesq) to grab the game’s first goal.
Recommendations
To win – AC Milan (5/6, Bet365)
To win to nil – AC Milan (9/4, PaddyPower)
Note: bet365 are streaming the match live for free at bet365 > sports > live streaming