Milan, Juve set for pre-season clash

AC Milan and Juventus will clash for the Trofeo Berlusconi on Sunday – an annual warm-up match ahead of the start of the Serie A season.

The bitter rivals will meet at the San Siro in Milan for the 21st edition of the exhibition match, with less than a week to go until they begin their domestic campaigns.

“It will be an important match for us to get ready for the championship,” Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said of the encounter.

“We have to be ready to play a good match from a technical and tactical point of view, also because the championship will start in six days and we need to be ready straight away.”

Both clubs have been among the traditional superpowers of Italian and European football, but their fortunes have differed in recent years.

While Milan claimed the Scudetto last season, Juventus finished a disappointing seventh. Milan also beat city rivals Inter in the Italian Super Cup earlier this month.

Both teams will be using the clash as a warm up for their opening Serie A fixtures, with Milan away at Cagliari and Juve travelling to Udinese.