"It's a nice thing because aside from the rivalry between us, a Serie A championship without Juventus isn't the same thing. I think it will be a nice game," he told the club's official website.

A similar fixture was missing last season because of Juventus' demotion to Serie B due to their involvement in the infamous match-fixing scandal.

However, the Bianconeri returned to the top-flight after a one-season absence and managed to beat the odds and produce a competitive form.

Busy Calendar

Milan enjoy some rest during the international break and the veteran defender knows, as he prepares for Juve, that the European champions have a busy calendar afterwards.

"After the international break, we will enter a decisive stage of the season both for qualification to the Champions League and the Club World Cup," he said.

"This is an important engagement also because of the fatigue that the travel will cause to us; we will be in Japan for more than ten days.

"The closer the World Cup gets, the more we think about those two games, which have a huge significance for us."

The 39-year-old skipper admits the Serie A and Champions League are the Rossoneri's priorities but insists that the World Club Cup in Japan is an important objective.

Milan are struggling in the Serie A as they lie 11th in the league table with 14 points and have a game in hand.

"Our season still has two main objectives which are the league and the Champions League, even though the will to get back on top of the world is strong."