AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca revealed that while his team have respect for Juventus, they harbour no fear of their Turin based opponents ahead of Saturday’s Serie A clash, Soccernet.football reports.
The Rossoneri have endured a slow start to the season and are currently six points behind Juventus in the league standings, with a game in hand as they look to close the gap on the top six.
Milan return to San Siro for the first time since their 2-0 loss to Napoli at the end of October. They risk registering back-to-back home defeats in Serie A for the first time since October-November 2023.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the crunch tie, Fonseca gave his thoughts on the importance of the game, emphasizing the need for a win against their arch rivals.
“It is not decisive, but it is important, like all of them,” Fonseca said in a press conference.
“I can’t say that the game against Juve is more important than the next one against Empoli because we need consecutive victories.
“It’s a different game, but I always think positively. We are Milan, we have a lot of respect for the ‘Bianconeri’, but we are not afraid. We are here ready to win.”
Juventus remain the only team in Serie A who are yet to lose a game so far this season. They occupy sixth position on a very tight standings, just two points behind league leaders Napoli.
The Bianconerri will be without their first-choice striker Dusan Vlahovic, who returned from the international break with an injury. However, Fonseca is aware of the danger that Tim Weah, Vlahovic’s potential replacement, could pose.
“Juve knows how to adapt very well. I don’t know if Weah will play,” Fonseca said.
“Weah is very fast and attacks deep, not like Vlahovic. It will not be the same thing of course.
“We will have to pay attention to movements in depth and less to support work, because he is a player who does less of this job.”