AC Milan vs Juventus - Montella believes Milan have what it takes to trouble Juventus

Posted Friday, October 27, 2017 by PA

AC Milan boss Vincenzo Montella hopes Saturday's visit of champions Juventus can help ignite his side's stuttering campaign.

A major summer spending spree has not yet reaped dividends in terms of results, with Milan heading into this weekend's fixtures lying eighth in Serie A and already 12 points behind leaders Napoli.

However, recent performances have given Montella cause for optimism and he is now hoping Wednesday's 4-1 win at Chievo - the Rossoneri's first victory in five games - and this weekend's clash with Juve can be the catalysts to a brighter future.

He told a press conference, as reported by acmilan.com: "We have improved over the past matches, we are more confident and less tense. The team is braver.

"We are really close to playing the football that we want, to what we had in mind when we were building the squad.

"I think we have everything it takes to make it against Juve tomorrow if we show our qualities and our confidence.

"(Win over Chievo) was a spark, now we need that to become a fire tomorrow."

Montella concedes, however, that his team will need to be on top form and also enjoy some good fortune if they are to topple a Juve side who have picked up 25 from a possible 30 points so far.

The former Sampdoria and Fiorentina boss said: "You have to play the perfect match and in a game like this a touch of luck is necessary too.

"This clash can be the turning point of the season. Winning could give us a great boost in every aspect."

Juve head to the San Siro in rich goalscoring form, having netted 10 times in seeing off Udinese and SPAL in the last week.

That has helped move the defending champions to within three points of Napoli at the summit, but coach Massimiliano Allegri is still demanding more from his players.

He told a press conference: "Wednesday night (Juve beat SPAL 4-1) I was angry because we lacked a lot.

"A team like Juventus, with players who have such high technical quality, has to make less mistakes. The team understands that and we are working on it."

Allegri also warned his side not to be lulled into a false sense of security by Milan's stuttering start to the season - insisting he fully expects their opponents to be right up there at the end of the campaign.

He added: "We're facing a team that is coming off an important victory on Wednesday and has quality players. They are a little bit down in the standings, but they'll challenge for the top four by the end of the season."

Allegri, meanwhile, lamented the absence of Milan's former Juve defender Leonardo Bonucci, who is banned following his red card last weekend.

"I'm sorry he's not playing tomorrow, because everyone should be there in big games," he said.