AC Milan, who have won seven out of their eight Serie A matches this season, will face their long-standing rivals Juventus on Sunday evening at San Siro. Milan’s victory over Genoa before the international break was a thrilling one, while Juventus emerged victorious in the Derby della Mole and are currently only four points behind the Rossoneri.

In this upcoming match, Milan will have to rely on 40-year-old goalkeeper Antonio Mirante, who will be making his first competitive start for the team. This is because Mike Maignan, their regular goalkeeper, is serving a suspension after being dismissed in the Genoa match, and their summer signing Marco Sportiello is injured.

Stefano Pioli, Milan’s coach and a former Juventus defender, will also have to manage without French full-back Theo Hernandez, who is suspended, and there are doubts about Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s participation due to an adductor problem.

On a positive note, both Pierre Kalulu and Rade Krunic have used the international break to recover from their injuries. However, it is unlikely that either of them will be fit enough to start such an important game.

Christian Pulisic, who is part of Milan’s front three, has made an impressive start to his Serie A career, scoring four goals in his first eight matches since joining from Chelsea. Only four Milan players have achieved this feat of scoring five goals before their 10th league appearance since the mid-1990s: Andriy Shevchenko, Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato, and Carlos Bacca.

As for Juventus, they have welcomed back their first-choice forwards Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic after the international break. However, their Brazilian defensive duo Danilo and Alex Sandro will not be available for this match.

Chiesa has been particularly effective against Milan, having been directly involved in more away goals against them than any other team, with three goals of his own and three assists. In fact, in all five of his league games against Milan at San Siro, he has played a part in at least one goal.

In addition to Danilo’s absence, Juve coach Max Allegri must make another change to the XI that started against Torino. Young midfielder Nicolo Fagioli, who has been embroiled in Italian football’s betting scandal and is now facing a seven-month ban, will be replaced by Fabio Miretti.

AC Milan vs. Juventus – lineups

AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Mirante; Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Florenzi; Musah, Adli, Reijnders; Pulisic, Giroud, Leao

Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Rugani; McKennie, Miretti, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Milik, Vlahovic