Why Juventus vs Milan will prove to be an early indicator of title ambitions

Before Serie A breaks for this month's international festivities, it's going out with a bang on Sunday evening with one of the season's most anticipated fixtures.

The league is full of big-name matches, from the derbies in Rome and Milan, to the rivalry between Inter and Juventus in the derby d'Italia, but there's only one clash that stands as the headline act. 

Juventus vs Milan. Black and White vs Black and Red. Old Lady vs Rossoneri. Two Italian giants who have battled each other domestically and in Europe since their first meeting in 1901. 

This weekend will see the latest chapter in the rivalry, but what puts this rivalry above the rest of Italy's blockbusting games? 

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Serie A's Liverpool vs Manchester United 

Every one of Europe's elite leagues has a rivalry that's based on success, with some tribal cross-city geography thrown into the mix for good measure. 

In Spain, it's El Clásico, seen as one of the game's greatest spectacles, as the two most famous names fight for supremacy in La Liga. While over in the Premier League, despite the modern-day rise of Chelsea and Manchester City, the go-to game is always Liverpool vs Manchester United. 

They may not always have been title rivals, with the pendulum having swung in both directions, but they are England's most successful sides and contrasting cities and stand out on the fixture calendar above everything else. 

Juventus vs Milan is completely comparable. They are Italy's two most successful teams, from two different proud cities and who may not always be direct rivals for honours, but that never takes anything away from the occasion when they meet. 

No game goes back further in Italian football than these two's first meeting 124 years ago. Since then, Juve have gone on to win a record 36 Serie A titles, compared to Milan's 19 (joint-second with Inter). 

But it's in Europe where Milan holds the bragging rights, with seven European Cups to Juve's two and a sense of the Rossoneri being accepted into Europe's elite in a way Juventus never quite have. 

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If you know your history... 

Since that first meeting and on route to those trophy wins, there have been some epic encounters between the two Italian giants. 

Going into Sunday, it's Juve who hold the better record in games, with 94 wins to 74, but Milan are the team to have beaten the Turin side more times than anyone else - including in their most famous clash. 

2003 saw the first and, to date, only all-Italian Champions League final and fittingly, it was between these sides as all eyes descended onto Old Trafford. 

In the end, the game failed to live up to expectations, as the two rivals battled out a goalless draw and the tie had to be decided by a famous shootout. There were five missed pens during proceedings, but it was Andrei Shevchenko's winning spot kick that saw Milan lift their sixth European crown and the expense of their league rivals. 

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Domestically, there's been some classic moments, too. With Marco Van Basten leading the way in a memorable 4-0 win in 1989 as the pair battled for European spots. 

Five years later, it was the turn of Juve, who ended Milan's title dominance thanks to a Roberto Baggio goal in a 1-0 win that put them on their way to winning their first Scudetto in eight years. 

There was Juve's 6-1 win at the San Siro in 1997, their Supercoppa Italiano penalty victory in New York just months after their European heartbreak and a win in Milan in 2005 that secured the title, only for it to be later revoked in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal. 

While Sully Muntari's 'ghost goal' of 2012 is often recalled around this fixture due to its consequences for both sides at the time. 

More recently, it's been a much more even split in the league, but Juve can boast of winning the last two Coppa Italia Finals against Milan in 2016 and 2018, even though they'll never dull the devastation of 2003. 

2025's vintage 

Where are we then in 2025, with Juventus and Milan? Well, as usual, there are storylines aplenty going into Sunday's game, none more so than the return of Max Allegri to Turin, where he enjoyed five title wins as Juve boss but is now looking to turn the fortunes around of the Rossoneri in his second spell at the club. 

They go into it on a massive high, too, having beaten champions Napoli last weekend and laying down a marker for a proper title challenge this season. With no European football to contend with, a midfield duo of Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot instantly clicking, there's some real optimism at the San Siro. 

Over in Turin, they are more cautious. Yes, there's no doubt they are among the title contenders, but the jury is still out on whether Igor Tudor is the man who can deliver their first championship since 2020. 

We won't know much more come the final whistle either, but what we'll all enjoy is another chapter in Serie A's biggest game, which will no doubt add another memory to its enduring legacy. 

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