Two Calcio giants clash in Friday's second Supercoppa Italiana semi-final, as Juventus meet AC Milan in Riyadh.
The Coppa Italia holders will take on last season's Serie A runners-up, with new Milan manager Sergio Conceicao aiming to defeat his son's side.
Match preview
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For the second time, four teams will take part in a Supercoppa Italiana mini-tournament, starting off 2025 with silverware at stake - both Juventus and Milan are set to make their debut in the new-look format.
Juve boast the best overall record in the competition's history, having lifted the trophy nine times to date - in addition to losing the decider on eight occasions - and they qualified for this year's edition by claiming the Coppa Italia.
Now, they will aim to book an encounter with either their victims in last term's Coppa final, Atalanta BC, or Scudetto holders Inter Milan in Monday's final.
Set to meet Milan in the league later this month, Thiago Motta's men have endured a frustrating Serie A campaign so far. Last week's 2-2 draw with Fiorentina - featuring a Khephren Thuram brace - may have made it 18 league games unbeaten but left them trailing behind Italy's top four.
When Motta took over from Max Allegri in the summer, Juventus supplemented an ageing squad with some expensive signings, but little has changed in terms of results.
Throughout 2024, the Bianconeri drew 21 top-flight matches - just one shy of the all-time Serie A record held by Perugia - and they are at risk of missing out on a return to the Champions League.
While Juve are well-placed to progress to the knockout phase of UEFA's top competition and have already secured a spot in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, Motta will be aware that winning one trophy is a minimum requirement.
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Having joined Milan at the same time as Motta's appointment in Turin, Paulo Fonseca produced a similar level of results, but he has now been shown the door by the Rossoneri's under-fire owners.
Advised by playing legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the American investment firm RedBird Capital - fronted by Gerry Cardinale - have been besieged by fan protests over recent weeks, and Fonseca ultimately proved to be the fall guy.
With Milan sitting eighth in Serie A - five points behind Juventus, but with one game in hand - he made way for fellow Portuguese coach Sergio Conceicao, whose successful spell at Porto ended in acrimony.
Ex-Inter player Conceicao inherits a squad lying 13 points adrift of the Nerazzurri and 14 shy of league leaders Atalanta BC, leaving lots of work to do if they are to salvage European qualification from a sub-par season.
Amid a disappointing domestic campaign, Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders has excelled - playing a part in 11 goals so far - and his strike secured a 1-1 draw with Roma in the Rossoneri's final fixture before Christmas.
Before getting back down to business in Serie A, Milan's sojourn to Saudi Arabia brings an immediate chance for Conceicao to earn credit by claiming the Supercoppa Italiana, which the second-city club have lifted seven times previously.
Team News
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Juventus enter 2025 with an improved injury list, as only Arkadiusz Milik, Bremer and Juan Cabal are still sidelined; Jonas Rouhi and Timothy Weah have both resumed training and Douglas Luiz recently returned from his latest layoff.
However, former captain Danilo has been left out of Thiago Motta's squad for the Supercoppa Italiana, as the Brazilian defender closes in on a mid-season switch to Napoli.
Leading Juve's attack, top scorer Dusan Vlahovic could link up with winger Francisco Conceicao, who will come face to face with his father on Friday - the Porto loanee was previously managed by Milan's new boss in Portugal.
Meanwhile, ex-Milan midfielder Manuel Locatelli and defender Pierre Kalulu are set to meet their old club at Al-Awwal Park, where the Rossoneri's latest new era will begin.
Sergio Conceicao may make some changes to Paulo Fonseca's final lineup, particularly with Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic closing in on returns from injury.
While Noah Okafor, Samu Chukwueze and Alessandro Florenzi are all ruled out, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Yunus Musah should be back to bolster Milan's midfield options.
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Savona, Kalulu, Gatti, McKennie; Locatelli, Thuram; Conceicao, Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Vlahovic
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Thiaw, Hernandez; Fofana, Bennacer; Pulisic, Reijnders, Jimenez; Morata
We say: Juventus 1-0 AC Milan
Although a 'new-manager bounce' cannot be counted out, Milan remain an enigma, equally capable of keeping clean sheets or shipping silly goals.
Still a work in progress, Juventus are tougher to beat. Therefore, the Bianconeri can grind out a grim victory and proceed to Monday's final.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
