AC Milan will hope to put further pressure on Serie A’s top two when they make the trip to Global Energy Stadium to take on bogey-side Udinese on Saturday night.
It has been a weird season for draw specialists Udinese this season, with only two victories in 20 matches, but a league-high 12 draws means they come into the weekend’s game against AC Milan sitting just one point above the bottom three.
Gabriele Cioffi succeeded Andrea Sottil some time ago, and performances almost immediately got better; however, results remain uneven as they continue to struggle to see out victories. They do come into this one off the back of an entertaining 2-2 draw with high-flying Fiorentina. But they will be frustrated with themselves after failing to earn all three points despite leading twice in that game.
AC Milan, meanwhile, provided a perfect response to the Coppa Italia elimination, putting on a dominant performance in a 3-1 home win against AS Roma, which eventually led to Jose Mourinho’s sacking on Tuesday. Stefano Pioli’s side desperately needed three points to maintain faint hopes of closing the gap to the top two, Inter Milan and Juventus.
That means AC Milan have now recorded three straight wins in Serie A and have only lost one of their past nine league games as they aim to recover from a sluggish start. The hosts may have managed just two wins all season long, but, quite remarkably, one of those three points came against a terribly out-of-form AC Milan at San Siro in early November. The Hard Tackle looks at how both sides could line up on Sunday and what tactics they might employ.
Team News & Tactics
Udinese
Former AC Milan attacking midfielder Gerard Deulofeu is among a pool of four players on the hosts’ injury report. The Spaniard joins Jaka Bijol and Enzo Ebosse in the treatment room, while Vivaldo is doubtful for the visit of Milan.
The Friulani recently welcomed Jordan Zemura back to full fitness, with the ex-Bournemouth wing-back making the bench alongside new arrival Lautaro Giannetti in the last game. Simone Pafundi and Brenner have also returned to full training, so Gabriele Cioffi’s forward options could be bolstered this weekend.
Martin Payero could make a return to the starting XI after overcoming the muscle issue that kept him benched against Fiorentina. The Argentine playmaker should start in the midfield trio alongside Walace and Sandi Lovric, with Festy Ebosele and Hassane Kamara providing the width from wing-back positions.
Top-scorer Lorenzo Lucca is likely to retain his place as the visitors’ lone front man, while Roberto Pereyra, who has yet to score against Fiorentina in 12 league games, could come out of the frontline in favour of Florian Thauvin.
Probable Lineup (3-5-1-1): Okoye; Ferreira, Perez, Kristensen; Ebosele, Payero, Walace, Lovric, Kamara; Pereyra; Lucca
AC Milan
While centre-back trio Pierre Kalulu, Malick Thiaw, and Fikayo Tomori all remain unavailable due to injury, AC Milan’s defensive crisis has shrunk a bit this week, with reserve goalkeeper Marco Sportiello back in training. In addition, Alessandro Florenzi could also return to the squad after missing last week’s game against his former side AS Roma.
Tommaso Pobega is ruled out again, though, while Ismael Bennacer and Samuel Chukwueze are away at the Africa Cup of Nations. Milan are expected to retain their 4-2-3-1 formation. Mike Maignan should continue in goal behind the back four of Davide Calabria, Simon Kjaer, Matteo Gabbia, and Theo Hernandez.
Yacine Adli produced his most eye-catching display in the Milan shirt last time out as he made the Rossoneri forget about Ismael Bennacer’s absence in the engine room. Apart from the goal, he was everywhere, establishing himself as the beating heart of Pioli’s midfield alongside the energetic Tijjani Reijnders.
Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud take their natural spots on the left wing and up front, respectively. USMNT international Cristian Pulisic put together another electrifying performance on the right wing against Roma and is expected to start out wide here, with former Chelsea tank Ruben Loftus-Cheek being tasked with providing the forward thrust and muscle power in this game.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Kjaer, Gabbia, Hernandez; Reijnders, Adli; Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; Giroud
Key Stats
- Udinese have won each of their last two Serie A games against AC Milan and have never won three league games on the spin against the Rossoneri in their history.
- Udinese have played out draws in 12 of their 20 matches in Serie A this season.
- Udinese came out on top in the reverse fixture with a narrow 1-0 scoreline last year and are looking to complete a league double over AC Milan for the first time since the 2016/17 season.
- Seven of Udinese’s last eight league matches have produced over 2.5 goals.
- AC Milan have a poor recent record against Udinese, with only one win from the last six meetings with the Friulani.
Player to Watch
Olivier Giroud
The ageing target man rose to the occasion again with a goal and an assist in the 3-1 victory over AS Roma last time out. The first goal was an easy finish, as the ball found him in the right place at the right time. But the assist for the third goal was just ridiculous, with a backheel nutmeg. He sure is ageing like a fine wine.
The veteran striker has now recorded three goals and four assists in the last seven matches, while he is also just three goals away from tying his career high in Serie A, with ten already on the campaign, enough to place him second in the league’s goalscoring charts.
Prediction
Udinese 2-2 AC Milan
On paper, this should be a pretty straightforward match for AC Milan, who have enough depth to go into the clash against Udinese as favourites and have match-winners capable of pulling one out of the hat. Aside from a disappointing cup exit, AC Milan have been in fine form during the festive period. But Udinese have been Milan’s bogey side.
The hosts have continued to be tough to beat in Serie A, and despite the Rossoneri’s improved form, Udinese will be confident of at least putting a dent in their aspirations of catching up with Serie A’s top-two. The Hard Tackle predicts an exciting 2-2 share of honours between the two at Global Energy Stadium this Saturday.
