Aquilani: Milan are better than Juve

Alberto Aquilani wants his AC Milan colleagues to prove their superiority over Juventus when the top two teams meet in Serie A on Saturday.

Midfielder Aquilani spent last season on loan at Juve from Liverpool, and has considerable respect for the Turin outfit.

But he is confident reigning champions Milan will prevail in this week’s eagerly-awaited top-of-the-table clash at San Siro.

“I think that Milan are stronger than Juventus, but they must prove it on the field,” Aquilani was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I envy Juventus’ unbeaten record and (midfielder Claudio) Marchisio, who is a very strong player.”

“Juventus have invested so much and have returned to the top. And (coach Antonio) Conte has given great organisation to the team.”

“However, I remain of the view that it is (the) players who make the difference.”

Aquilani feels Milan are the stronger team man-for-man, and have demonstrated their strength in depth by coping without Zlatan Ibrahimovic in recent weeks.

The star striker will sit out the Juve clash as he serves the final match of his three-game suspension for slapping an opponent.

“The team has shown it can do well without him (Ibrahimovic),” Aquilani said.

“And I hope that (Alexandre) Pato has a great game for Milan; he has enormous potential.”

Aquilani himself will also be missing, the 27-year-old is sidelined by an ankle injury.