MANCHESTER (England), May 27: The awesome consistency of Juventus meets the unpredictable flair of AC Milan in the first all-Italian Champions League final at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Juventus were the last Italian club to lift the European Cup when they won it for the second time in 1996, and they are aiming for a memorable double after wrapping up the league title for the 27th time.

Milan’s first success since 1994 would take their total number of European Cup wins to six, a step closer to Real Madrid’s record haul of nine.

The all-Italian affair has many neutrals muttering about negative tactics, especially as Juventus will be without their most creative player in Pavel Nedved, who is suspended.

Few are predicting anything better than a cagey game dominated by the two defences. In truth, though, Wednesday’s game will have little to live up to.

Most recent finals have provided only occasional bursts of excitement, as in Manchester United’s last-gasp 2-1 win over Bayern Munich in 1999, or have proved too one-sided to be truly satisfying like Real Madrid’s 3-0 stroll past Valencia in 2000.

Juventus and Milan have done much this season to revive the reputation of Italian teams and they have the ability to serve up, if not a classic, then at least a masterclass of technique, talent and temperament.

“Games between us and Milan have always been attractive matches,” said the suspended Nedved.

“We’re two squads that are very tactical and give away little space, that’s true, but both always play to win and that’s the basis of any attractive game.”

There has been no Italian club in the final since Juventus lost to Real Madrid in 1998 and this is only the second time in six years that there has been no Spanish team in the final.

That is down largely to Juventus, who knocked Deportivo Coruna out with a 3-2 win in the second group phase and then beat Barcelona in the quarterfinals and Real in the semis.

Milan also did well against Spanish opposition in the group phases, producing a mesmerising display to beat Deportivo 4-0 before downing Real Madrid 1-0 in a great match.

The absence of Nedved will be a headache for Juventus coach Marcello Lippi, who was in his first spell in charge when they beat Ajax Amsterdam in 1996 and lost the next two against Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

Probable teams:

Juventus: 1-Gianluigi Buffon; 21-Lilian Thuram, 2-Ciro Ferrara, 4-Paolo Montero, 15-Alessandro Birindelli; 16-Mauro Camoranesi, 26-Edgar Davids, 3-Alessio Tacchinardi, 19-Gianluca Zambrotta; 10-Alessandro Del Piero, 17-David Trezeguet.

AC Milan: 12-Dida; 19-Alessandro Costacurta, 13-Alessandro Nesta, 3-Paolo Maldini, 4-Kakha Kaladze; 8-Gennaro Gattuso, 21-Andrea Pirlo, 20-Clarence Seedorf; 10-Rui Costa; 7-Andriy Shevchenko, 9-Filippo Inzaghi—Reuters