It all started on August 8, 2015 when two second-half goals, scored by new signings Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala, saw Juventus beating Lazio 2-0 at the Shanghai Stadium, in China, to lift the Italian Super Cup.
Despite that auspicious start to the new campaign, many predicted that the Bianconeri would find life more difficult without key players Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez who had left in the close season.
The sceptics were proved right at first as Juve misfired badly in the Serie A initial stages.
Three wins was all the defending champions were able to collect from their first 10 outings. That bleak run left them in 12th place and virtually out of the reckoning.
However, Massimiliano Allegri’s men clicked into gear after prevailing over city rivals Torino (2-1) and the team never looked back after that.
In fact, Juventus won all but two of their next 28 league games.
Only Bologna (0-0 on the 26th day and Verona 1-2 earlier this month) were good enough to deny Juve from the three points.
However, the upset to bottom side Verona was irrelevant as it came at a time when Juventus were already sure of their fifth league title in a row.
In the meantime, Juventus overcame Torino (4-0), Lazio (1-0) and Inter (5-3 on penalties) to reach next Saturday’s Coppa Italia final against Milan.
So far, Juve’s exit at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League represents their lowest point in season 2015-16.
Milan promised a lot but eventually delivered little.
For the first time in many years, they spent big (in the region of €90m) on the transfer market but they were never really in contention for a top-three finish.
With coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, the seven-times European champions recorded 13 wins and 10 draws in 32 games.
In the meantime, Milan also reached the Coppa Italia final after ousting Perugia (2-0), Crotone (3-1), Sampdoria (2-0), Carpi (2-1) and Alessandria (semi-finals, 6-0 on aggregate).
For club owner Silvio Berlusconi, Milan’s track record this season was negative enough to induce him in sacking the much-travelled Mihajlovic and appoint novice Christian Brocchi for the rest of the season.
But with former Lazio and Inter midfielder Brocchi, Milan did even worse. A 1-0 away win against Sampdoria augured well. But a scoreless home draw with Carpi was the prelude to a miserable 1-2 away defeat to Verona.
A 3-3 draw against second-bottom Frosinone and a 1-0 away win at Bologna preceded a 1-3 home setback to Roma on the final day.
On paper, Milan stand very little chance of upstaging Juventus at Rome’s Olympic Stadium on Saturday. But football is so unpredictable especially when cup finals are played.
Juventus will be without valid defender Leonardo Bonucci as he is suspended.
Direct encounters
This season, Juventus beat Milan twice – 1-0 at home and 2-1 in the second round. Incidentally, last month’s showdown at the San Siro brought the curtains down on Mihajlovic’s reign on the Rossoneri hot seat.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s clash will be the fourth Coppa Italia final contested between Juventus and Milan. Juventus prevailed on two occasions.
In 1942, the final ended in a 1-1 draw and the Bianconeri went on to win the replay 4-1. In 1973, Milan won 6-3 after a penalty shoot-out, following a 1-1 stalemate.
More recently, in 1990, Juventus completed a double by winning the UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia. In the domestic competition, Juventus edged Milan 1-0 on aggregate.
Juve will be playing in the group stages of the 2016/17 Champions League. Milan, who finished seventh in Serie A, have to win the Italian Cup to book their place in the group stages of the Europa League.
Irrespective of Saturday’s outcome, Juventus and Milan will cross swords again in the Italian Super Cup, likely to be played in Doha, Qatar, either in December or next January.