Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. AC Milan

First, I bring you this quote from Antonio Conte's pre-match press conference on Saturday afternoon.

"It will be a tough season because our rivals have strengthened and nobody would like to see Juventus win a third consecutive Scudetto. But we've experienced two thrilling years and this could also be a great season as well."

I take that "nobody" as every other Serie A club. I may be wrong, but I may be right. I guess one of us will have to fly to Turin to ask Conte for clarification on the quote. You never know, you might get s pretty interesting answer from a pretty interesting guy.

But there's something else Conte said during his press on Saturday.

"It will be a game between two teams who want to be up there fighting at the top of the table. Milan have had the misfortune of coming up against a great Juventus side over the past two years, otherwise they would have kept on winning. That's been their biggest problem."

Look at the first sentence. That's why we're here. Even though Juventus aren't sitting atop the Serie A table, they're close to it. Milan want to be there, too, but for obvious reasons they aren't. A win against one of their biggest rivals will not only give them three points, but get them that much closer to the leaders of the pack.

But for now, Milan can only look up at them. That includes Juventus, who are winning domestically despite playing not very well at all right now. If they want to change their form to something a little more enjoyable, then I'd be all for it.

I guess the possible turn for the better starts tonight against Milan. Well, I hope it does. I'm getting kinda tired of writing grumpy post-game threads.

UPDATE: LINEUPS ARE IN!

Juventus XI (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Padoin, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah; Tevez, Quagliarella

Juventus bench: Storari, Rubinho, Ogbonna, De Ceglie, Peluso, Motta, Pogba, Isla, Llorente, Giovinco

Milan X( (4-3-2-1): Abbiati; Abate, Mexes, Zapata, Constant; Nocerino, De Jong, Muntari; Montolivo, Robinho; Matri

Milan bench: Amelia, Gabriel, Zaccardo, Emanuelson, Poli, Mastalli, Saponara, Niang