Opposition Focus | Milan

Milan and Juventus occupy two of the top three positions in the Serie A standings, with just four points separating the two sides ahead of this Sunday evening's match-up at San Siro.

As we count down towards this weekend's clash, here's all you need to know about our upcoming opposition.

MILAN IN NUMBERS

• Milan have won seven of the first eight matches (1L) of this championship and only on two occasions have they recorded at least eight victories in the first nine matches of a Serie A tournament (in 1954/55 and in 2021/22).
• The Rossoneri have found success in each of their last six home games in Serie A, the last time they won more home games in a row in the competition was between November 2012 and March 2013 (eight).
• Milan is one of the three teams that have not yet conceded a headed goal in the league this season (along with Inter and Cagliari); the last headed goal conceded by the Rossoneri in Serie A dates back to 4 June, scored by Faraoni of Verona.
• Pioli's team is the one that has recorded the best shooting accuracy in the league so far this season, with 57% of their shots on target.
• Milan is the team to have scored the most goals in the middle half hour of play (31'-60'), with nine goals in this period, at least three more than any other team in Serie A.

BEWARE OF ...

• Christian Pulisic scored four goals in his first eight Serie A matches: only four AC Milan players making their debut in the top-flight managed to reach five goals before their 10th appearance in the competition in the three-points-for-a-win era (Shevchenko, Ronaldinho, Pato and Bacca).
• Among players with at least 10 attempted shots across the five major European leagues, Christian Pulisic is one of the four to have recorded the highest success rate – 40% (four goals with just 10 attempted shots), together with Serhou Guirassy (42% ), Jonas Wind (41%) and Hwang Hee-Chan (42%).
• The first two of the three total goals scored in Serie A by Fikayo Tomori came against Juventus following a dead ball situation. The English defender boasts three wins and a draw in the four top-flight matches played against the Bianconeri.
• Olivier Giroud can become the fifth player in the entire history of Serie A capable of scoring more than one goal against Juventus after turning 36 (after the goal scored last May 28), after Silvio Piola (three), Luca Toni (three), Gianfranco Zola (three) and Francesco Totti (two).
• Should he start, Rafael Leão would play his 100th match from the first minute in Serie A; the Portuguese forward has been involved in at least one goal in each of his last five matches as a starter in the competition, the only time he has done better in the Italian top-flight was between April and May 2022 (six).
• Rafael Leão (41) is close to becoming the second Portuguese player in terms of goals scored in Serie A, moving ahead of Rui Costa (42); Furthermore, with 49 goals, he is one step away from scoring 50 goals in the five major European championships.
• Among the players with at least 150 minutes to their name in this championship, Yacine Adli has the highest average number of successful passes per 90 minutes (76 in 194 minutes played).
• Since his debut with the Rossoneri in 2019/20, Milan have played just 23 games without Théo Hernández in Serie A (out of 160), recording an average of 1.7 points per game and a winning percentage of 47.8%, compared to 2.1 points and 62.0% success rate with him on the field.
• Tommaso Pobega's first goal in Serie A came against Juventus on 1 November 2020 wearing the Spezia shirt.

PIOLI VS ALLEGRI

• Stefano Pioli was a Juventus player in three seasons between 1984/85 and 1986/87; the Emilian coach has lost 12 matches as coach against the Bianconeri in Serie A (more than any other opponent), compared to four wins and five draws.
• Massimiliano Allegri sat on the Milan bench for 133 matches in Serie A, in which he achieved 74 wins (34N, 25L) - as a player he scored his first goal in Serie A against the Rossoneri, on 13 September 1992 with Pescara.
• Massimiliano Allegri is the coach who has won the most games against Stefano Pioli in Serie A: 11, complete with five draws and two victories for the Emilian coach.