Juventus and Milan entered the season with European ambition and the expectation that their new coaches would give the campaign a firm direction. Instead, Luciano Spalletti and Ruben Amorim are approaching a decisive stretch with sides still searching for a settled identity: Juventus drew at home to Rennes, Milan were beaten heavily at Bournemouth, and neither club currently offers the certainty of an Italian finalist in the Europa League.
Key takeaways
- Juventus have moved from a 4-2-3-1 towards a back three, while Milan have alternated between three and four defenders.
- Spalletti will be without nine players for Juventus’s next three matches against Lecce, Genoa and Napoli.
- Juventus have won only once since the international break, needing a 92nd-minute goal away to Celta Vigo.
- Amorim’s Milan face Udinese, Bologna, Inter, Ferencvaros and Genoa before the November break.
- Both clubs face unresolved squad-building questions after influential coaching input in the transfer market.
Searching for a stable shape
Spalletti began with the 4-2-3-1 Juventus had used at the end of last season, but a long sequence of injuries changed the picture. Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram and Manuel Locatelli were all unavailable for extended periods, while Weston McKennie was injured after the opening match at Frosinone. Juventus gradually adopted a three-man defence, using Nico Gonzalez, Alajbegovic and Francisco Conceiçao in wide or advanced roles behind a lone striker.
The 3-4-1-2 used against Rennes was designed to bring Nick Woltemade and Randal Kolo Muani together. Yet the formation change has not solved Juventus’s broader problems in possession. Their attacking play has often been slow and sideways, with too few surprises, and set pieces have remained a principal route to chances. More recently, the side have also begun conceding freely, with an unbalanced press leaving large spaces between the lines.
Several selections underline the uncertainty. McKennie’s versatility has been one of the brighter elements of Spalletti’s early spell, but Celik on the left side and Nico Gonzalez as a right wing-back have raised more questions. Kolo Muani also struggled when asked to carry the attack alone. Apart from the latest Rennes outing, he has looked more comfortable alongside Woltemade.
Milan’s alterations have followed a similar pattern. Amorim initially installed his familiar 3-4-2-1, then at times pushed Mario Gila, or Fikayo Tomori, wider to create what resembled a four-man defence with a conventional right-back. De Winter and Pavlovic have not changed their fundamental characteristics, but Milan’s defensive arrangement and the occupation of the attacking midfield line have varied from match to match.
Adrien Rabiot has explained that Amorim adapts his approach to target each opponent’s weaknesses. The logic is understandable, although Milan have too often appeared short of clear solutions with the ball. Their opening hour against Atalanta remains the notable exception.
Player roles have reflected that movement. Alphadjo Cisse scored a Europa League hat-trick on his first away trip in the competition while playing from the left of the attacking midfield line, then appeared as an unconventional centre-forward in the next European match. Diego Moreira has been moved from left to right, and between wing-back and attacking midfield. He has said he prefers the right, although his Strasbourg career was largely spent on the left. His strongest Milan displays have also come from that flank, including against Lazio in Rome; at Bournemouth, deployed on the right, he had far less influence.
Yunus Musah and Ardon Jashari have likewise been assigned different midfield tasks. Rabiot has been the more convincing experiment, capable of affecting matches as either a midfielder or an atypical number 10. The larger question is whether those adjustments are sharpening Milan’s options or preventing a recognisable structure from taking hold.
Transfer choices and an unforgiving autumn
The coaches have not been detached from recruitment. Milan have increasingly moved towards a model in which the manager has considerable influence. Paulo Fonseca held limited authority in summer 2024, while Massimiliano Allegri’s impact in 2025 was more focused on particular arrivals, including Rabiot, Estupinan and De Winter. Amorim, by contrast, has been central to the club’s market decisions.
That does not remove doubts over the balance of the squad. At Juventus, there is still the question of why Spalletti’s request for three experienced, winning-minded additions was not followed more closely, with the club instead undertaking a broader rebuild that brought 10 signings. The €30 million spent on Alajbegovic secured an outstanding young prospect, but came in an area already well stocked, while a physical centre-forward and a left-back appeared more urgent needs.
Juventus also failed to complete a sale, leaving the club to fill crucial positions such as goalkeeper and holding midfielder through loans or by returning to players previously deemed surplus. In Milan, Francesco Camarda was elevated as Ramos’s deputy, but has remained on the bench when Ramos has been tired or absent. The final seasonal investment, a loan for Hutchinson, has also prompted debate. Milan have only Musah with genuine ball-winning physicality in midfield, while the centre-back rotation could also have used another option.
The coming weeks will make those decisions more visible. Juventus travel to Lecce and Genoa before hosting Napoli, with Grabara, Yildiz, Thuram, Locatelli, Ekhator, Conceiçao, Nico Gonzalez, Celik and Arkadiusz Milik all unavailable. After that comes a difficult Europa League trip to Alkmaar and a Serie A visit to Fiorentina. The meeting with Allegri’s side at the Allianz Stadium stands out as the major summit, but the entire route is demanding.
Spalletti’s position will be tested over the next 16 days, with his options severely reduced. After discussions with senior players following the Lazio match, the 3-4-1-2 is likely to remain in place. One of the two forwards could be rotated with Alajbegovic or Boga, another sign of a squad being asked to solve problems through adaptation.
Milan are in a slightly less severe position. Away to Udinese, then at home to Bologna, followed by the derby, Ferencvaros at San Siro and Genoa by the sea, Amorim faces a run of moderate difficulty with the derby against Inter at the end of October looming as the defining obstacle.
At the end of summer, Amorim said that October and November would be used to give everyone an opportunity and establish who belonged at the heart of his project. Halfway through that process, he must decide whether to persist with the plan or react to immediate pressure. At Milan, draws are rarely treated calmly and defeats quickly become major events.
Pervis Estupinan and, above all, Ruben Loftus-Cheek may offer the clearest indication of Amorim’s next move. Loftus-Cheek has disappointed supporters for years, and the exceptional version seen against Paris Saint-Germain in November 2023 no longer feels like a reliable reference point. Having started five of Milan’s first 10 matches, he is now part of the wider question facing both clubs: whether continued experimentation can become a platform, or whether it is prolonging uncertainty.
