Juventus-Milan Preview: Returning to the Scene of the Crime

Playing for Juventus is a crime. That's why they wear the black and white striped prison shirts. And we have players in our squad who are past criminals. Not only that, but Allegri committed his biggest crimes at Juventus as well. Going to J Stadium, this will be a homecoming for players like Rabiot and De Winter, but it will also be a "what might have been" for current criminals and former Milan players like Kalulu and Locatelli. But Allegri won five Scudetti and six  other trophies with Juventus after his singular Scudetto and Supercoppa at Milan. And he left Juve ugly, too. So emotions will be high for all of these players, but especially for Allegri, as they are returning to the scene of the crime.

Not sure if Juve are prepared for the way Pulisic has been playing.

After being "punished" for their many crimes two years ago, Juventus are now managed by Igor Tudor, himself a former criminal Juve player of six years. With five matches played, Juve have won three and drawn two, giving Juve 11 points, one point behind Milan coming into this match. Their most recent match was a 1-1 stalemate with Atalanta last week. For that match, Tudor lined up a 3-4-2-1 with: Di Gregorio; Gatti, Bremer, Lloyd Kelly; our former Kalulu; Koopmeiners, Khéphren Thuram, Cambiaso; Adzić, Yildiz; and Openda. 

Kalulu with a couple of his new prison buddies, Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceição

However, Tudor is faced with some injuries this week. From last week's match, he will be missing both Bremer and Cabal, with Thuram having only partially trained with the group on Friday, having not made their midweek Champions League match, so in doubt. They join the players with longterm injuries, Milik and Miretti as missing for this match. Tudor was asked a question in his press conference about fellow Croatian, Modrić, whom he had actually played with before. He was full of respect and praise for the midfielder, but ended his press conference in the most Balkan way by saying, "I hope he plays like sh*t tomorrow." (Even though it was clear from his face that he did not believe for a second that would happen.)

Allegri, after originally appearing to fall into his typical habitual injury crisis mode, only has Jashari out injured now. Tomori has recovered from his muscle injury sustained vs. Napoli, and has been back in training with the squad the past few days, and there is a possibility he may even be prepared to start. Obviously, Estupiñan will be suspended for this one after his red card in that same match. Allegri said in his press conference that either Bartesaghi or Athekame will start in his place. It was also mentioned that Leão may not start, as he has missed so many matches, he is virtually starting his season again. But he will absolutely be available from the bench. Allegri understands his value, and how he can singlehandedly change a match.

Now Rabiot returns top of the table, wearing a proper jersey, a leader in Milan's midfield.

Unfortunately, Allegri and the team will also be missing their 12th man, the Curva Sud, having just regained their support at San Siro last week. The Curva Sud have been boycotting the away matches to J Stadium for a number of years now, ever since Juve changed their ticketing prices and policies, including, for example, the requirement to register as a Juventus fan in order to buy tickets. I don't know what kind of messed up person thought that would be okay with visiting fans, but Milan's Ultras are not the only ones who have boycotted. Unfortunately, the boycotts have not had the intended effect, because, like the soulless criminals they are, Juve just fill the away section with their own fans, making it a completely hostile crowd for away teams. I understand the Curva Sud's stance here, but wish there were a better way to handle it, one that didn't harm the team.

Rabiot and De Winter have to wonder how they will be received. J Stadium is small, only about 40,000 seats, compared to the 70,000+ of San Siro. But Juve fans are some of the worst in the league – loud, obnoxious, entitled, pretentious (but often ignorant,) and yes, too often, racist. Rabiot was an important player for Juventus for five years, while De Winter was a product of their Juve NextGen team, their U23 team, so never actually made appearances for the first team. 

Just three years ago, Kalulu was on the right side of the law, celebrating the Scudetto with his friends.

On the other side of the law, Locatelli exposed himself as a lifelong criminal Juventus fan when he eventually made it to his dream team. But Kalulu was pushed out of Milan, and forced to wear the prison stripes against his will. I imagine it is always emotional for him to see the handful of players who are still at Milan with whom he won a Scudetto with just three years ago.

But the most interesting welcome will be how Juve fans respond to Allegri. He won a total of 11 trophies with Juve during his eight years in two stints at the club, behind only behind Trappatoni and Lippi in terms of success. But with his raging striptease red card at the end of their Coppa Italia win last year, followed by his threatening to cut off the ears of a journalist, which ended in his termination, it is difficult to know how the fans will feel about him. Also, because obviously, he is now back at Milan, who are, of course, direct rivals and top of the table.

Will their return to J Stadium be friendly or fiery?

The match itself will be a tough one. Juventus will have tired legs from their midweek trip to Spain, but they will also have an entire stadium of criminals fans supporting them. However, Milan have also won five matches in a row, and have only conceded three goals in all. So, as long as they don't get cocky, they have a good chance at defeating the criminals in their own prison house. Also, I cannot imagine a world where Allegri does not personally want to avenge his sacking at the hands of these criminals, as he felt that throwing a giant toddler tantrum and then acting like a mob boss was somehow not worthy of being sacked. So we will just have to see what happens when he is returning to the scene of the crime.

This post inspired by the music of Lush's "Hypocrite"

Our next match is:

Campionato Primavera 1 Week 7

Milan Primavera vs. Monza Primavera

Saturday, October 4, 2025 • 13:00 CET (7am EDT)

This match is not being televised in the U.S.

Serie D Week 6

Virtus Ciserano Bergamo vs. Milan Futuro

Sunday, October 5, 2025 • 15:00 CEST (9am EDT)

This match will be streamed live on Virtus Ciserano's YouTube channel

Serie A Week 6

Juventus vs. Milan

Sunday, October 5, 2025 • 20:45 CEST (2:45pm EDT)

In the U.S., this match can be streamed for free on DAZN (in Spanish,) or on Paramount+,

or use a VPN to access better coverage