The five key battles that could win or lose the game for Milan against Juventus

Juventus and AC Milan will renew their rivalry on Sunday night as the two sides face each other at the Allianz Stadium.

The two biggest clubs in Italian football have faced each other 289 times and Juventus hold an advantage, with 89 wins against Milan’s 66. A whopping 73 of them have ended in draws though, and that seems to be the favoured outcome tonight among bookmakers.

The team news coming out at present suggests that Massimiliano Allegri will stick with a formula that is working for him. In other words, there will be no changes barring the one at left wing-back which is forced due to Pervis Estupinan’s suspension.

Juventus vs. Milan: The five key battles

Christian Pulisic will play a key role in the game, as almost goes without saying at this point. He has been on fire this season with eight goal contributions in seven games – six of them goals. With the struggling Santiago Gimenez expected to get the nod again, it will most likely be up to the American to provide the creativity once again.

As Fabio Capello also picked out in his analysis, Pulisic is likely to face off mostly against Federico Gatti. The 27-year-old is tipped to start on the right side of a three-man defence due to the injury problems Juve have at the back, and he will have to be the leader of the rearguard without Gleison Bremer around.

Photo by Claudio Villa/AC Milan via Getty Images

Davide Bartesaghi, presuming he does start, will be another one to keep an eye on. The 19-year-old has made good impressions recently, especially in the Coppa Italia match against Lecce late last month, but this is an entirely different proposition given the level of opponent and game situation.

The young Italian will have to be at his best up against Francisco Conceicao, who scored in midweek in what was another thrilling Champions League draw for the Bianconeri, this time against Villarreal. The winger is tricky and direct so Bartesaghi must watch him closely, while there is the added sub-plot of how Milan treated his father Sergio.

Another threat for the home side is Kenan Yildiz. Just like Pulisic is for Milan, the Turkey international the source of creativity in attack for Juve and the Rossoneri simple cannot give him space to drive into and time to unleash a shot. His goal scored previously against Milan shows exactly what he is capable of.

Fikayo Tomori has passed a late fitness test and is expected to start on the right side of the three. There are few tougher examinations so the Englishman will have to be on top form, though he has had a positive start to the season overall.

The man pulling the strings in the midfield department for Milan will be Luka Modric, who has been nothing short of sensational thus far in terms of his impact and his technical ability. The 40-year-old has revolutionised the way Milan manage the ball, and he should play in the middle of the three again to dictate the tempo.

On the Juve side, Manuel Locatelli is the one who will try to control things in the middle of the park. He is one of the many sub-plots to the game this evening, given his past at Milan which includes a beautiful winner against the Bianconeri in the 2016-17 season.

Finally, we move back out wide again. Andrea Cambiaso was actually linked with a move to the Diavolo at different points during the summer before it became clear that Juventus were not willing to entertain the sale, and thus turned to Estupinan instead.

The 25-year-old likes to get forward and create where possible, and it should be a fascinating duel with Alexis Saelemaekers on that side. There are certainly some similarities in the way the two players play the wing-back role, but the Belgian is having more impact in attack, as his goal against Napoli shows.