Serie A: Who Can Be the “Best of the Rest” in Italy?

AC Milan vs Juventus

Think of Serie A and, among a number of giants of the game, two clubs stand out for me – AC Milan and Juventus.

That is far from being disrespectful to some of the other great institutions.

It’s just it is the view of this SBOTOP scribe that the Rossoneri and the Old Lady of Turin have always had a slight edge over their Serie A counterparts when it comes to magic.

In 2026, they are both playing catch-up with Inter Milan, who are on the verge of reclaiming the Scudetto they won two years ago.

This meeting in the San Siro, however, has the potential to decide who is the “best of the rest”, as well as reunite a former Juventus favourite with old friends.

Talking Points

My New Year prediction that we could see a Fab Four certainly hasn’t materialised. In fact, by the time this contest kicks off, Inter could be hours away from being crowned champions.

A victory for them in Torino would mean Milan need to defeat Juve to stop their old foes and neighbours, even though that would only delay the inevitable.

For the main focus for both these sides now is finishing as high as possible in Serie A and securing the lucrative ticket that is Champions League football next term.

After losing four of their previous seven games, Milan managed an unconvincing 1-0 victory over Hellas Verona last time out, struggling to see off Serie B-bound opponents at Stadio Bentegodi.

The Serie A 2026 highlights and goals have dried up of late, with Milan averaging just one per game, while key figures Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic have seen a drop-off in form.

Nevertheless, in his first season at the helm, Max Allegri – who has twice coached Juventus, dominating Italian football during his first spell – can still point to having made a positive impact since his return: the Rossoneri have 15 more points on the board than they did at this stage last season.

Juve, who have had a few years in the doldrums by their own high standards, have also shown signs of improvement.

Juventus come into the clash in strong form, unbeaten in Serie A as they prepare to face AC Milan — Luciano Spalletti gestures during Juventus’ Serie A match against Lecce at the Allianz Stadium

In fact, beating Milan would bring them into the mix to finish runners-up, which was almost unthinkable when they put Napoli’s 2023 title-winning boss Luciano Spalletti in the hot seat last November.

They have averaged nearly two points per game under his leadership – significantly higher than Igor Tudor’s 1.5 – and only Inter have accrued more during that period.

Spalletti’s men have won five of their last six league fixtures too, conceding just one goal in the process, while last week’s home victory over Bologna made it eight without defeat across all competitions.

Juan Cabal and Arkadiusz Milik have been ruled out this Sunday, while Dusan Vlahovic – a reported target for Milan this summer – could still join them on the sidelines. There is also a slight question mark against Kenan Yildiz.

Milan have the luxury of a full-strength squad to choose from. They also know they need to win if they are to climb back above Napoli, 4-0 home winners over Cremonese on Friday night, into second spot.

For Juve, victory would take them above Milan on goal difference into third.

There’s plenty to play for in the San Siro.

History

Arguably, their most famous clash was in the 2003 Champions League Final when Milan, managed by Carlo Ancelotti, triumphed in a dramatic penalty shoot-out at Old Trafford.

While a thriller that was not, there have been some thrillers in recent seasons, not least when Zlatan Ibrahimovic inspired Milan to overturn a two-goal deficit to win 4-2 six years ago.

Amazingly, the last time Milan won successive home matches against Juventus was 30 years ago – successive victories in 1989 and 1990 when Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit were in their pomp. A scorer in the 1990 meeting, incidentally, was a certain Ancelotti.

They haven’t enjoyed back-to-back victories in Turin since 2011 either. The meeting in Turin earlier this season finished goalless, as did this corresponding fixture last term.

Juventus won the return league fixture with Milan, defeating them 2-1 in the Coppa Italia semi-final last season, a tournament they went on to win.

Overall, Milan have won 54 of their meetings with 72 draws and a further 79 Juventus victories.