In danger of exiting Europe after a midweek defeat, AC Milan must attempt to get their domestic top-four challenge back on track when they host Hellas Verona on Saturday.
Still seeking their first-ever Serie A win at San Siro, the visitors were heavily beaten last week and sit just outside the drop zone.
Now facing a 1-0 deficit ahead of next week’s second leg, Milan lost to Feyenoord in the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday night, when a disjointed performance saw them come away empty-handed from De Kuip.
Goalkeeper and captain Mike Maignan made a rare mistake in conceding the hosts’ early goal, which ultimately proved enough to consign his team to defeat in Rotterdam.
As a result, the Rossoneri’s away woes in the knockout phase continued: they have won none of their last 12 elimination games on the road, failing to score on eight occasions.
The winner after Tuesday’s return leg will play either Arsenal or Inter Milan in the last 16, so missing out on a potential Champions League edition of the Derby della Madonnina would be all the more painful for Sergio Conceicao and co.
First, Milan must try to extend their three-match unbeaten streak in Serie A, where they lie seventh – and with a seven-point gap to the top four.
Last Saturday, goals from substitutes Rafael Leao and Santiago Gimenez – the latter of whom was making his league debut after signing from Feyenoord – earned Conceicao’s side a 2-0 win in Empoli, days after their Coppa Italia quarter-final victory over Roma.
Milan have now prevailed in 11 of their last 15 meetings with teams situated inside the bottom six; furthermore, they have won all of their last eight against Verona.
Following a 1-0 home defeat in December, Verona have also scored only once in the sides’ last three encounters, and they will now make yet another attempt at tasting success in Milan.
Remarkably, Hellas have never won away to either second-city club in Serie A; since 1957, they have played some 65 times at San Siro without winning once.
Recent form also suggests the Gialloblu could struggle to end that trend, as they were thrashed 5-0 by Atalanta BC last time out: only Southampton and Holstein Kiel have conceded more goals than Paolo Zanetti’s men across Europe’s top five leagues this season.
A running total of 53 represents Verona’s worst-ever tally at this stage of a top-flight campaign, though they are still keeping their heads above water, with three points separating them from the relegation zone.
After previously suffering a streak of six away defeats, Hellas have since lost only one of their last five fixtures on the road; however, history will not be on their side this weekend.
Team News
After boldly fielding four forwards against Feyenoord, Sergio Conceicao may revert to a more familiar lineup on Saturday evening, as Yunus Musah returns from suspension and can slot back into Milan’s midfield.
Emerson Royal (calf), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (thigh), Warren Bondo (muscular) and Alessandro Florenzi (knee) are all ruled out by injury, while Fikayo Tomori serves a one-match ban for his controversial red card in Empoli.
Having scored in both of his first two games for the Rossoneri, Santiago Gimenez fired a blank against his old club on Wednesday, but he should still pip Tammy Abraham to selection up front.
Meanwhile, Verona will have key midfielder Ondrej Duda back from a ban, but central defender Daniele Ghilardi now misses out through suspension.
Suat Serdar, Martin Frese, Abdou Harroui and top scorer Casper Tengstedt – the latter of whom has been sidelined by an ankle sprain – are still sidelined.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Walker, Thiaw, Pavlovic, Hernandez; Fofana, Musah; Pulisic, Reijnders, Felix; Gimenez
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Daniliuc, Coppola, Dawidowicz; Tchatchoua, Niasse, Duda, Bradaric; Suslov; Sarr, Mosquera
We say: AC Milan 2-0 Hellas Verona
Although Verona have actually accrued more points on the road than at home, their San Siro curse is set to continue.
Despite a change of management, Milan are still hit-and-miss – but they are rarely beaten on home turf by Serie A strugglers.
