AC Milan will look for their seventh win in the league when they hit the road to square up against Genoa.
14th-placed Genoa are all set to host second-placed AC Milan in the Serie A. The home team have not had the best of starts to the new season while the visitors are off to a flyer, and they will look to continue in similar fashion.
Genoa have only accumulated eight points in their seven league outings so far. They have only won two matches and have already lost thrice in the new season. They will have to be at their best if they want to claim all three points against Milan
The home team are heading into this fixture on the back of a 2-2 draw against Udinese. They did not have much of the ball but managed to convert the limited chances they had. They were in the driving seat right until the end. But an own goal by teenager Alan Matturro meant they could not get all three points from this outing.
Meanwhile, AC Milan are currently second on the points table with 18 points to their name. They have won six out of their seven league games. They have been unbeaten since their 5-1 humiliation at the hands of rivals Inter Milan. They have won all three of their league games, while playing out a draw in their opening two fixtures in the Champions League.
AC Milan are heading into this fixture on the back of a 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League. It was an evenly contested fixture where the visitors didn’t really deserve anything more than a point. However, they will still be confident of returning to winning ways when they face Genoa. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict the tactics they could use.
Team News & Tactics
Genoa
The home team will be without the services of Kevin Strootman and Milan Badelj. Meanwhile, Stefano Sabelli is expected to be fit in time for this fixture.
👥+🙌=⚽️🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/KkDJoaM3s6
— Genoa CFC (@GenoaCFC) October 5, 2023
Genoa will go ahead with the 3-5-2 formation, where Josep Martínez will be in goal. The back three for this fixture will be Radu Dragușin, Mattia Bani and Johan Vasquez. The trio will look to keep a clean sheet against one of the best attacks in Serie A.
Koni De Winter and Alan Matturro will start out wide as the wing-backs. The duo would love to join the attack, but they might have a lot of defensive work to do against Milan given the quality of their wingers.
In the centre of the park, Morten Thorsby will start alongside Morten Frendrup and Ruslan Malinovskyi. The trio will look to initiate counterattacks at every possible opportunity. In attack, Albert Gudmundsson will have the support of Mateo Retegui.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Martinez; Dragusin, Bani, Vasquez; De Winter, Thorsby, Frendrup, Malinovskyi, Matturro; Gudmundsson; Retegui
AC Milan
AC Milan will be without the services of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rade Krunic and Ismael Bennacer. The Rossoneri will go ahead with the 4-3-3 formation, where Mike Maignan will be in goal.
You can’t beat a last-minute winner 🤩 #GenoaMilan #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/9A0SbxXYNb
— AC Milan (@acmilan) October 5, 2023
Alessandro Florenzi and Theo Hernandez will be the full-backs. The duo will look to join the attack and exploit the opposition in wide areas. Meanwhile, in the heart of the defence, Malick Thiaw will pair up with Fikayo Tomori.
Yunus Musah, Yacine Adli and Tijjani Reijnders will be the midfield three. The trio will look to dictate the pace of the game and ensure they are in control of this match. Christian Pulisic and Portuguese sensation Rafael Leao will start out wide as the wingers. Meanwhile, they will have the support of Olivier Giroud who will be leading the line for Milan.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Maignan; Florenzi, Tomori, Thiaw, Hernandez; Musah, Adli, Reijnders; Pulisic, Giroud, Leao
Key Stats
- In the 31 matches between AC Milan and Genoa, the visitors have won 19 times while the home team only has seven wins.
- AC Milan have the third-best attack in the team having scored 15 goals in seven matches.
- Genoa have conceded 11 goals while they have only scored 10 so far.
- The visitors have won their last three league games and will look to make it four.
Player to Watch
Rafael Leao
Leao might have failed to make an impact in their Champions League fixture against Borussia Dortmund. But, the 24-year-old winger has been in sensational form in the Serie A, and he would love to continue in a similar fashion when he steps onto the pitch to face Genoa.
The Portuguese international has found the back of the net three times and also has four assists to his name in his seven league outings. And, given his recent, Leao might end up being the difference between the two teams.
Prediction
Genoa 1-2 AC Milan
Genoa might have managed to win against AS Roma, but they couldn’t follow it up with another win in their last outing. They played out a 2-2 draw against Udinese and were not at their best. While they will be looking for all three points here, they might not have enough in their tank to take down Milan.
The visitors have been in great form in the new season. They might have lost to Inter Milan but post that they have been unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions. They will look to continue their winning streak in the league when they face Genoa. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for the visitors.
