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• Juventus on track for pre-season goals – Massimiliano Allegri

  Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri says he is on course to achieve both his pre-season objectives with the Turin giants.

  The Bianconeri currently sit third in Serie A and take a 2-0 lead into Tuesday night’s return leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final in Rome against Lazio.

  Allegri told a press conference: “This year we started with two goals: to qualify for next year’s Champions League – we are currently third in the standings – and to win the Coppa Italia.

  “I always say that when you play, the goal must be to go all the way in the competitions, always.

  “Our focus now must be to go all the way in the Coppa Italia and that must be our goal. The team will be motivated and I’m sure none of us are thinking about the two-goal lead in the first leg.

  “When you are at Juventus you have to play to get results, to win. The ambition must always be to reach our maximum.

  “When you play in a great team it’s important to live with the desire and, consequently, the pressure to try to win trophies.”

  Allegri is in his second spell as Juve boss after replacing the sacked Andrea Pirlo in 2021.

  In his first stint in charge, from 2014-19, he guided Juve to five successive league titles, four Coppa Italias and to the Champions League final twice.

  Second-half goals from Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic in the first leg at the Allianz Arena earlier this month put Juve in control of the tie.

  But Allegri is not underestimating Lazio, who appointed Croatian Igor Tudor as head coach in March after Maurizio Sarri resigned.

  “We will find a Lazio side that will play a very aggressive game, having to come back from two goals down,” Allegri added.

  “They are changing compared to the team coached by Sarri, they are much more aggressive. It will be a difficult match.

  Allegri said he will monitor Chiesa, who played the full 90 minutes in Friday’s 2-2 draw at Cagliari.

  Lazio boss Tudor believes his side must play the “perfect match” if they are to overturn a two-goal deficit.

  He said: “It’s an important match because we are playing to get into the final, against a strong team and with a (first-leg) result that isn’t easy.

  “We must try until the end with all our strength to pass, we must believe and play a perfect match. Don’t make any mistakes and go with all our strength, this is our objective and let’s see what happens.”

• Arteta hails Arsenal resilience as crucial Chelsea clash looms

  Mikel Arteta has praised Arsenal for showing resilience during a difficult period and described his players as a "joy to work with" ahead of a crucial week in the Premier League title race. 

  All three title contenders – Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City – are in action twice this week, with the Gunners taking on Chelsea and Tottenham in two huge London derbies.

  They returned to the top of the table with Saturday's 2-0 win over injury-hit Wolves, but with City possessing a game in hand, the destination of the trophy remains out of their hands. 

  Following a difficult few days in which Arsenal surrendered control of the title race and exited the Champions League against Bayern Munich, Arteta was delighted with their response at Molineux. 

  "If you look at the amount of games we have played in the last few weeks, the type of games we have played, their effort is unquestionable and the results are something else," Arteta said.

  "It's a joy to work with them, and it makes us realise we want to be involved in the big competitions, fighting for the Champions League, fighting for the Premier League with the level that it requires."

  Chelsea's ambitions, meanwhile, are limited to securing qualification for either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League, with their hopes of silverware being dashed on Saturday. 

  They were guilty of spurning several golden opportunities in their 1-0 defeat to City at Wembley Stadium, with their wait for a first trophy under the Todd Boehly regime being extended.

  Mauricio Pochettino, though, is choosing to take the positives from that game as the Blues bid to draw level with Newcastle United and Manchester United in the table on Tuesday.  

  "Now we need to take the positive things from the game," Pochettino said. "This group of players needs these types of moments and games.

  "Now is the time to finish the season in the best way and then see how we can do better next season."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH 

  Arsenal – Leandro Trossard

  Trossard scored in October's reverse fixture as Arsenal fought back from 2-0 down to clinch a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, and he has provided an invaluable source of goals from the left wing in recent games, with Gabriel Jesus struggling.

  The former Brighton and Hove Albion man is enjoying his most prolific Premier League campaign, with nine goals, and only Bukayo Saka (14) has netted more for the Gunners this term.

  Chelsea – Nicolas Jackson

  Jackson missed several clear-cut chances as Chelsea failed to make the breakthrough against City at Wembley on Saturday, and he is perhaps running out of chances to show he can be the Blues' long-term solution in that number nine role.

  Jackson's 10 Premier League goals this season have come from a total of 13.98 expected goals (xG), giving him an underperformance of -3.98. Only Dominic Calvert Lewin (-5.98) and Darwin Nunez (-4.1) have underperformed their underlying numbers by a greater margin.

  MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN

  Arsenal have only lost one of their last eight Premier League games against Chelsea (five wins, two draws), going unbeaten through their last four against them. That is their longest such streak versus the Blues since they went 19 matches against them without defeat between 1995 and 2005.

  Chelsea are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games (four wins, four draws) and have scored multiple goals in each of their last six. However, that run could come to a halt at the Emirates, with Arsenal possessing a strong record in the biggest games this term.

  City and Liverpool have already left north London defeated this season, and Arsenal have not lost back-to-back home Premier League games since April 2022. Chelsea should be competitive, but the Gunners cannot afford to miss this chance to pull clear of their rivals. 

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Arsenal 51%

  Chelsea 22.5%

  Draw 26.5%

• Stefano Pioli determined to stop Inter Milan clinching Scudetto against his team

  AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli wants victory “for several reasons” as they prepare for their derby clash with Inter Milan on Monday.

  Milan were knocked out of the Europa League at the hands of fellow Serie A side Roma in midweek and will be looking to bounce back with a victory against their city rivals.

  The Rossoneri sit second in the table behind Monday’s opponents and a win for Inter means they could also clinch the title, something Pioli insists his side will use for extra motivation.

  He said on acmilan.com: “Pride, redemption, belonging, responsibility, all good terms to describe the game that awaits us.

  “Because of the league table, the Europa League exit, and for the fact that they want to win the Scudetto in this game, we have a big opportunity. A victory would be important for several reasons.

  “I have a lot of faith in my players, they know how important the game is. The more you play and gain trust if you understand how to stay in the game, it will be fundamental not to give away chances at the start like we have done in recent derbies.”

  Milan will also be looking for revenge after they were thrashed 5-1 in the reverse fixture during Inter’s impressive start to the season and they have been beaten the last five times the sides have played each other.

  Pioli knows his side have to be at their very best to get a result on Monday.

  “We had high expectations in the fixture earlier this season, then we weren’t able to overcome some obstacles during the game. As far as the tactical choices go, we are open to every option.

  “We will need to play an exceptional game, we come off the back of five consecutive defeats against them and they have always given us problems.

  “They deserve to win the Scudetto but we need to do everything we can to ensure it doesn’t happen tomorrow. We have worked hard in the last few days, we are totally focused on best preparing for the game”.

  A win for Milan could all but secure their Champions League status for next season and, with nothing else to play for this season, Pioli has set his side the objective of finishing the season strongly.

  He added: “I ask my AC Milan to win and do well from now until the very end. After seven wins on the bounce, we didn’t play as we could have done, we need to give it our all and do so until the end of the season.

  “Journalists and fans have the right to criticise, tomorrow there will be 70,000 fans spurring on AC Milan, nothing else matters. The squad shouldn’t play for me, but for the fans and to honour the shirt.

  “I want to give everything as I have done since my first day, I have been given a lot and I still feel like I have a lot to give to this team. Work is the only verb I know, we will try to win every game from now until the end and then we will see.”