AC Milan can take a huge step towards sealing the second spot in Serie A when they host mid-table battlers Genoa on Sunday.
Stefano Pioli has only once endured a longer winless streak before at AC Milan than he is going through now, as the Rossoneri are without a win in their last five games across all competitions ahead of the visit of Genoa. It has been a painful period for their fans, which has seen their club bow out of the UEFA Europa League and endured the experience of watching rivals Inter Milan clinch the Scudetto at their expense.
They did make amends in the race for second with a stalemate against rivals Juventus, thus keeping their five-point advantage over the Bianconeri. AC Milan are in pole position for the runners-up spot and could take a giant step towards achieving it with a win over Genoa, who visit San Siro on Sunday.
There has already some talk about the club planning on replacing Pioli at the helm, and for that reason alone, it is imperative for the manager to finish in that second spot. Hence, the game against Genoa is crucial for the Rossoneri boss and the club, who might still be suffering from the heartbreak of letting their arch-rivals lift the Scudetto on their ground less than a week ago.
Meanwhile, Genoa might take up the handbrake-off approach when coming into this clash, as they have little to gain from the remaining games of their season. The only tangible achievement they can have is a top-half finish.
The latter is still within touching distance despite being five points off tenth-placed Torino, although Genoa have a game in hand over the Turin club. A win at San Siro and some good results in their remaining three games after that could propel them into a good spot to finish in the top half.
The away side are coming to San Siro on the back of a 3-0 victory over Cagliari, which will boost their confidence. Former AC Milan star and current Genoa manager Alberto Gilardino will aim to achieve back-to-back wins in the league only for the second time this season for the club.
Team News & Tactics
AC Milan
After a period in which it appeared AC Milan’s injury woes might have eased, Stefano Pioli is again holding a long list of players sidelined and not available for selection.
Davide Calabria will continue to serve his suspension after his red card from the Inter Milan clash. Yunus Musah will also miss out after picking up a booking against Juventus in the previous game. Theo Hernandez’s availability allows Pioli to reshuffle his pack and bring Alessandro Florenzi back to the right-back role.
Simon Kjaer, Pierre Kalulu, Tommaso Pobega, Mike Maignan, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are considered out of contention for this one, forcing the manager to make some uncharacteristic changes to his lineup.
Christian Pulisic could be pushed into the attacking midfield role, while Samuel Chukwueze could be seen on the right-hand side of the attack, while Marco Sportiello seems best placed to replace Maignan between the sticks for AC Milan.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sportiello; Florenzi, Thiaw, Tomori, Hernandez; Adli, Reijnders; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Giroud
Genoa
Genoa are still reeling from the absence of many of their key performers and players who can have an impact on games like this one at San Siro. Former AC Milan attacker Junior Messias is among those sidelined for Genoa, while Ruslan Malinovskyi, Alan Matturro, and Mattia Bani are also sidelined for the away side.
Alberto Gilardino will rely on a compact shape, with his variation of the 3-5-2 set to take shape at San Siro against AC Milan. In this system, a few like Vitinha and Caleb Ekuban are pushing for a start. But the Genoa manager is unlikely to start either in his lineup to face the Rossoneri.
In his back three, Gilardino will likely prefer Alessandro Vogliacco, Koni De Winter, and Johan Vasquez. Stefano Sabelli and Aaron Martin were preferred in the wing-back roles, while Morten Thorsby, Milan Badelj, and Morten Frendrup were the choices to marshall the central midfield areas.
Top scorer Albert Gudmundsson will look to improve his tally of 14 strikes in this clash, as he also has five from his last seven games. The Icelandic international will start alongside Italian Mateo Retegui in those front two roles.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Martinez; Vogliacco, Winter, Vasquez; Sabelli, Thorsby, Badelj, Frendrup, Martin; Gudmundsson, Retegui
Key Stats
- AC Milan are winless in their last five games in all competitions.
- AC Milan are undefeated in 17 of their last 19 matches in Serie A.
- AC Milan are undefeated in their last six matches against Genoa in all competitions.
- Genoa have lost only one of their last nine away games in Serie A.
- Albert Gudmundsson has scored five goals in his last seven Serie A appearances.
Player to Watch
Olivier Giroud
Giroud has already matched his best-ever Serie A tally since joining AC Milan and will aim to improve that in the remaining games this season. He will want to leave the club on a high note and consolidate that second place for the Rossoneri.
He has a significant opportunity to improve his best tally for the club when AC Milan host Genoa. With Ruben Loftus-Cheek absent, there is the added pressure of helping with the creation bit, which Giroud does so expertly at certain moments.
Prediction
AC Milan 2-1 Genoa
Genoa may have some key players missing, but they have a good enough lineup to trouble any top-order side. Why they have not done that consistently remains the big question this season, as they might have relied too much on Albert Gudmundsson for the goals, and the Icelandic star may have another go at the AC Milan defence.
In terms of the overall quality, AC Milan do have an edge over Genoa, especially with players like Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao and Oliver Giroud. They also have the advantage of playing at home, which might play into the equation, as the Rossoneri might edge out a victory over Genoa on Sunday.