AC Monza vs Juventus preview, team news, tickets & prediction

AC Monza vs Juventus is the last game either team’s fans will witness before the Serie A goes on a quick Christmas break. For Juventus fans, a win will feel special enough to be a Christmas present but probably not as special as beating one of the big boys in Italian football. For Monza, however, a win against the Old Lady is the best Christmas present they would probably receive this year.

Both teams have not met much in Italian football due to Monza being strangers to the Italian top flight. The club, founded in 1912, has spent most of its history in the lower tiers of Italian football. Following the Berlusconi family’s takeover of the club in 2018, Monza returned to the Serie B in 2020. 

That was their first time playing in the Italian second division in 19 years. The Berlusconis invested in the club enough to make them strong enough to achieve promotion to the Serie A in 2022. That fateful 2021/22 season was their 40th season in the Serie B, which is the Italian record for the most seasons spent fighting for promotion to the Serie A.

This is why winning against Juventus is so important to Monza and her fans.

Juventus will be on high alert going into this match, however. Since their ascent to the Serie A, Monza have proved to be a bogey side to the Old Lady. I Biancorossi won their last two meetings in the top flight before Juventus finally got one over them in December 2023 at the Stadio Brianteo, the venue for this iteration of their clash.

There was early drama in that game when the referee pointed to the spot. However,  Dušan Vlahović could not convert from the spot,.giving Monza a lifeline. Not long after, Adrien Rabiot powered home a header from Hans Nicolussi Caviglia’s subsequent corner in the 13th minute.

The Biancorossi began the second half of that match with renewed vigour but it was not until later in the half that they equalised through a Valentín Carboni strike. Nonetheless, Juve had the last word when Gatti fired home at the second attempt to seal a hard-fought victory.

Then in May 2024, Juventus defeated them more comfortably at the Allianz Stadium which helped them end a nine-game winless run in the Serie A.

The hosts came out guns blazing. In the first ten minutes, Nicolò Fagioli struck the crossbar with venom to signal the Bianconeri’s intent. Soon, Federico Chiesa zoomed through the left flank before dispatching an unstoppable finish into the far corner, before Alex Sandro clinically headed past a helpless Alessandro Sorrentino at the near post following a corner delivery to double Juve’s lead. 

Monza had no answer of note, which meant that Juventus went into halftime with the lead. The second half was mooted for both teams, but Jude’s early blitz was enough to win that match.

These two victories were narrow, which should make Monza fans loud with belief when they welcome one of Italy’s most recognisable clubs to their grounds.

Below is the matchday tickets information, team news, predicted XIs and scoreline predictions for the match.

Match tickets

AC Monza vs Juventus tickets are on sale everywhere—on Serie A channels and partner platforms, on Monza channels, websites and partner platforms,  as well as on Juventus channels, websites and partner platforms. 

Early indication helps you stand a chance of successfully getting one of the 17,102 seats at the game, which will be played on 22 December 2024. 

Fans who want to attend the match and are not based in Monza, or are non-local or non-registered fans of the away side, Juventus, can visit ticket resale websites to buy seats from other fans with tickets to sell. 

AC Monza tickets are expected to sell out because families will add it to their Christmas plans, which means that the time to begin your purchasing process is now. The match will kick off at 8:45 PM UK time at the Stadio Brianteo, also known for sponsorship reasons as the U-Power Stadium.

Team news

In the days leading up to the match, Alessandro Nesta, manager of AC Monza, will be hard on Daniel Maldini, the son of his long-time friend and former teammate/centreback partner, Paolo Maldini. This is because the young attacking midfielder is a key cog in the Monza machine and is one yellow card away from missing the tie. Maldini has picked up four yellow cards this season which means he could be suspended for one game with the next one. Nesta’s only absence is Matteo Pessina, who tore a tendon and will be out until February 2025.

Juventus, on the other hand, are an injury-hit team. Seven of their main players are sidelined with varying injuries including Bremer, Juan Cabal, Arkadiusz Milik, Nico González, Douglas Luiz, Vasilije Adžić, Dušan Vlahović, Nicolò Savona and Weston McKennie. Bremer and Cabal return towards the end of the season next year, while Milik returns in January. The rest will be ready by the time the trip to Monza comes around, but their match-fitness is something to be decided by Motta and his medical staff. This means he could be travelling with a thin squad as he hopes to maintain his team’s rock solid form.

Line-ups

Here is what we expect both teams’ starting XIs to look like for this match.

AC Monza: Turati; Carboni, Mari, Izo; Kyriakopoulos, Bianco, Bondi, Pereira; Maldini, Mota; Duric.

Juventus: Perin; Savona, Gatti, Kalulu, Cambiaso; Locatelli, Thuram; Weah, Koopmeimers, Yıldız; Vlahovic.

Prediction

Juventus will be travelling, which gives Monza, the home team the advantage. However, Juventus under Thiago Motta have been a totally different beast. They may not be doing well on the table, but they remain the only team across Europe’s top five leagues to be unbeaten. Not only are they unbeaten, they have conceded the least goals in European top flight leagues. 

This is what Alessandro Nesta will be worried about coming into the game. Juventus’ lack of bite in front of goal could see them lose valuable points, however, unless they are able to quickly hit their hosts just like they did last time.

AC Monza 1 – 2 Juventus.