Sassuolo return to the familiar feeling of facing top-flight opposition as they travel to San Siro to face AC Milan for a place in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
Paulo Fonseca will switch gears from league and European action towards the Coppa Italia, as he wants to lay a marker on this competition. AC Milan, who have not won it since 2003, which in itself was their first in over half a decade, will want to make their presence felt, as they now welcome Sassuolo to San Siro in the round-of-16 clash.
Last season, Atalanta beat the Rossoneri in the quarter-final stage, and Fonseca will hope to reach that point of the competition at the very least on Tuesday evening. Milan are coming into this clash with an upward trajectory in terms of their form, as they are unbeaten in their last six games across all competitions since that league loss to leaders Napoli.
At the weekend, Milan got closer to sixth-placed Juventus with a comfortable victory over Empoli. They now have a game in hand over the Bianconeri. Fonseca will want to go deeper into the competition and create the chance to land silverware.
Sassuolo have a surprisingly good record at San Siro in recent years, having won three of their last four visits. Their most recent victory produced a memorable 5-2 reverse result, as this team is somewhat of a bogey side for the Rossoneri.
Sassuolo also managed an entertaining 3-3 draw, albeit on home soil, against AC Milan before calling time on their top-flight journey to drop down to Serie B. They are currently leading the charts in the second division, as manager and World Cup winner Fabio Grosso has been tasked with the objective of taking them back to Serie A.
A 2-0 reverse win over Reggiana away from home ensured Sassuolo extended their unbeaten run to 12 games across all competitions. Those include a 2-0 win over Serie A side Lecce in the second round of the Coppa Italia, which ensured they set up a date with AC Milan at San Siro.
Team News & Tactics
AC Milan
Paulo Fonseca will likely use this cup game as an opportunity to rest some of his first-team regulars ahead of this home clash with Sassuolo. A few of those regulars will be retained to keep balance in the side, including Youssouf Fofana, who could partner up with Yunus Musah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in that midfield. The latter is likely to play a more advanced role.
Ismael Bennacer, Alessandro Florenzi, and Luka Jovic are the ones sidelined, as these are long-term absentees for Fonseca. The latter recently underwent surgery to repair a chronic groin problem and is expected to remain sidelined for the foreseeable future. Marco Sportiello is scheduled to take the No.1 spot for this cup game.
Fikayo Tomori, Davide Calabria, Strahinja Pavlovic, and Filippo Terracciano are all expected to form that back four for Milan. In the attack, Tammy Abraham has been knocking on the doors for a start and will get his wish, as Samuel Chukwueze and Noah Okafor are all expected to start in the AC Milan attacking setup against Sassuolo.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sportiello; Calabria, Tomori, Pavlovic, Terracciano; Fofana, Musah; Chukwueze, Loftus-Cheek, Okafor; Abraham
Sassuolo
Fabiop Grosso will want to name his strongest lineup in an effort to make the most of their opportunity to get a dramatic win over AC Milan at San Siro. However, the manager has defensive problems to contend with as key left-back Josh Diog is missing from action, as is back Filippo Romagna ahead of this trip to Lombardy.
Cas Odenthal is expected to replace the latter, which would represent a solid opportunity for him to shine. Edoardo Pieragnolo is the candidate to come in at left-back. At the same time, Tarik Muharemovic and Jeremy Toljan are expected to feature in the other roles in that back four for Sassuolo.
Grosso will sustain the challenge posed by Milan’s imposing midfielders by naming Kristian Thorstvedt, Daniel Boloca, and Pedro Obiang in the middle of the park. Domenico Berardi has been a key performer for Sassuolo since his return from a serious injury last season, and he features on the right-hand side of the front three.
Grosso can choose one from Nicholas Pierini or Samuele Mulattieri to lead Sassuolo’s front line, as it could probably be the former who gets the nod. Meanwhile, the club has managed to keep hold of Armand Lauriente in the squad following their relegation, as some might remember the left-sided attacker scoring twice against Milan when the two sides last met in April.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Moldovan; Toljan, Muharemovic, Odenthal, Pieragnolo; Thorstvedt, Boloca, Obiang; Berardi, Pierini, Lauriente
Key Stats
- AC Milan are unbeaten in their last six games across all competitions.
- AC Milan has not won the Coppa Italia since 2003.
- Sassuolo have won three of their last four games against AC Milan at San Siro.
- Sassuolo are unbeaten in their last 12 games across all competitions.
Player to Watch
Domenico Berardi
The winger has only recently returned to action from a serious Achilles injury, which might have come to cost a summer transfer away from the beleaguered club. The Sassuolo attacker has also been a thorn for AC Milan over the last many seasons, as he has a phenomenal record of scoring 11 goals against the Rossoneri.
He was also the subject of big interest from then-Milan director Paolo Maldini, but since his sacking, the club decided against signing Berardi and went in another direction. Hence, there might be something for the winger to showcase in this fixture, as he always tends to find his best form, and given his current run, Berardi could be the player in focus in this Coppa Italia clash at San Siro.
Prediction
AC Milan 3-1 Sassuolo
Sassuolo have enjoyed much success when playing against AC Milan in recent years, but the circumstances have changed ahead of their visit to San Siro. Now Fabio Grosso’s side is established in Serie B, and while they still retain some top-flight quality players, they might not be as equipped to beat Milan as in those earlier years.
AC Milan, on the other hand, are coming into this clash at the back of an impressive build up in their form. Having gone six games unbeaten in all competitions, Paulo Fonseca will look to make it seven and seal a place in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals. Hence, a Milan victory is expected on Tuesday, as the Rossoneri might still end up conceding the odd goal.
