Having avoided a calamitous defeat last week, AC Milan will host Como on Saturday evening, when the regional rivals meet at San Siro.
Amid talk of a crisis, Milan fought back to beat Lecce, but they still sit only ninth in the Serie A standings. Meanwhile, their visitors are on track to secure top-flight survival.
So often their saviour, Christian Pulisic saved Milan’s skin again last weekend, with his brace securing a 3-2 comeback win over Lecce at Via del Mare.
The Rossoneri ended a three-game losing streak despite trailing 2-0 with more than an hour played, reportedly saving recently-installed head coach Sergio Conceicao from the sack following a dismal run of form.
Scraping past lowly opponents who had failed to even score in their four previous matches has not quelled such speculation, as Milan have now conceded twice in their last four Serie A fixtures – in addition to tamely exiting the Champions League.
After slumping out of Europe to injury-hit Feyenoord, they were beaten 2-1 by Torino, Bologna and Lazio, before relying on Pulisic to turn things around in Salento.
Trailing several rivals in the race for European qualification, Conceicao’s side therefore occupy ninth place in the table, eight points shy of Juventus, who hold the final top-four spot with 10 games remaining. So, no further setbacks can be afforded.
History may suggest they should sweep aside Lombardy rivals Como, against whom they are unbeaten in 12 Serie A matches, but current form will be in the visitors’ favour on Saturday.
While Milan have claimed just three points from their last four league games, Como have picked up seven during that same period, taking them closer to achieving their main objective.
Having spent heavily during both transfer windows since earning promotion, the Lariani were widely expected to avoid an immediate return to Serie B, and they now have a significant buffer to the drop zone.
Last week’s 1-1 draw with Venezia could have brought their third win in four, but Jonathan Ikone’s opener was cancelled out by a last-gasp leveller from the penalty spot. Nonetheless, Como sit seven points clear of danger.
Under the canny management of Cesc Fabregas, they are certainly capable of causing an upset, claiming 17 of their 29 points against teams inside the top half of the table: only Napoli, Atalanta BC, Inter Milan and Juventus have accrued more.
However, the Biancoblu have won just one of a dozen prior away games against Milan in Serie A, failing to score in any of the last five – though the clubs’ most recent top-flight clash at San Siro was back in 2003.
As Alessandro Florenzi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have recently rejoined full training, only Emerson Royal is missing from Milan’s squad due to injury, while Mike Maignan and Strahinja Pavlovic are both back from suspension.
Sergio Conceicao surprisingly dropped Joao Felix, Youssouf Fofana and Rafael Leao last weekend, but the latter could regain his place in the starting XI.
The Portuguese winger is set to make his 250th appearance for the Rossoneri: since moving to Italy in 2019, he is the only Serie A player to tally at least 50 goals and 50 assists across all competitions. If selected on Saturday, he would most likely link up with Christian Pulisic and Santiago Gimenez in the final third.
Meanwhile, Como’s chief threat comes from Assane Diao – who joined Leao on the scoresheet when Milan won 2-1 at Stadio Sinigaglia in January – and Nico Paz, who have netted 11 league goals between them this season.
Since Diao’s arrival, ex-Milan striker Patrick Cutrone has been consigned to the bench, and he was an unused substitute alongside Dele Alli last week.
Though Marc-Oliver Kempf and Mergim Vojvoda can return following one-match bans, Cesc Fabregas will again be without injured duo Sergi Roberto and Ivan Azon.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Walker, Thiaw, Gabbia, Hernandez; Bondo, Fofana; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Gimenez
Como possible starting lineup:
Butez; Smolcic, Goldaniga, Kempf, Valle; Caqueret, Perrone, Da Cunha; Strefezza, Paz, Diao
