Preview: AC Milan vs. Roma - prediction, team news, lineups

Both seeking to extremity a sub-par twelvemonth connected an up note, AC Milan and Roma volition adjacent retired 2024 with a Sunday nighttime clash astatine San Siro.

While Milan pb their visitors by 7 points successful the Serie A standings, neither broadside has matched expectations amid turmoil disconnected the pitch.

Match preview

© Imago

Not for the archetypal clip this season, the brilliance of midfield maestro Tijjani Reijnders helped Milan emergence supra mediocrity, arsenic his extremity secured maximum points successful their last fixture earlier Christmas.

The Rossoneri's Dutch dynamo fired location from conscionable extracurricular the container astatine Stadio Bentegodi, slaying Hellas Verona and keeping his squad wrong show of Italy's apical four.

Across each competitions, nary different Serie A midfielder has played a portion successful much goals this word (10), portion Reijnders is besides flying precocious successful some the shots and dribbles rankings; however, respective different Milan players person been beneath their best.

Before beating Verona, they had slumped into mid-table pursuing a tally of 1 triumph from five, bringing caller speculation astir whether embattled caput manager Paulo Fonseca would beryllium shown the door.

Not lone are his squad 11 points adrift of arch-rivals Inter Milan and 14 shy of league leaders Atalanta BC, meaning immoderate slim Scudetto hopes person already been shelved, but they are besides down respective different challengers for European qualification.

Yet to publication a spot successful the Champions League's past 16, the second-city broadside inactive person plentifulness to beryllium successful the 2nd fractional of the season, which starts aboriginal adjacent month, aft a sojourn to Saudi Arabia for the Supercoppa Italiana.

Milan whitethorn person kept six cleanable sheets successful 8 league games astatine San Siro this term, but they person besides failed to people successful 3 of the past 4 - arsenic galore times arsenic passim the erstwhile 45. Therefore, they volition privation to motion disconnected a sub-standard twelvemonth by giving their fans immoderate goals to celebrate.

© Imago

While Sunday's hosts person won each of their past 4 year-ending fixtures successful Serie A, Roma person travel up abbreviated successful each of their past three, having won 17 of the erstwhile 20.

They travel into this contention pursuing a tumultuous 12 months that featured the sackings of beloved brag Jose Mourinho and nine icon Daniele De Rossi, a disastrous spell nether caller Southampton manager Ivan Juric, and the consequent instrumentality of retired seasoned Claudio Ranieri.

Though Ranieri seemed to dependable the vessel upon his interim appointment, results were inactive beneath par connected the home front, arsenic the Giallorossi slipped person to the relegation portion astatine the commencement of December.

After the nadir of conceding 2 precocious goals to suffer astatine lowly Como, they bounced backmost by racking up 9 goals crossed 2 games successful little than a week: first, Sampdoria were safely dispatched successful the Coppa Italia, earlier Ranieri defeated different of his aged clubs past clip out.

Frequently linked with a determination distant during the upcoming transportation window, Paulo Dybala proved his worthy by scoring doubly successful a 5-0 thumping of Parma astatine Stadio Olimpico, lifting Roma backmost into the apical fractional of the array connected extremity difference.

However, they person mislaid each of their past 4 distant games successful Serie A - the club's worst specified tally since 2008 - and person a dismal grounds against this week's opponents.

The Giallorossi person conceded astatine slightest doubly successful their past six San Siro encounters with the Rossoneri, winning conscionable 1 of the sides' past 9 Serie A meetings overall.

AC Milan Serie A form:

AC Milan signifier (all competitions):

Roma Serie A form:

Roma signifier (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago

Milan's agelong database of absentees could soon beryllium importantly shortened, but it remains to beryllium seen whether respective players volition instrumentality successful clip for Sunday's game.

Christian Pulisic has trained individually and could marque the bench, portion Ismael Bennacer and Luka Jovic are some backmost successful afloat training.

Rafael Leao, Yunus Musah, Noah Okafor and Ruben Loftus-Cheek volition each miss out, on with ex-Roma full-back Alessandro Florenzi, portion Theo Hernandez hopes to extremity his exile from the starting XI, having been dropped amid speculation surrounding his future.

By contrast, Roma's sole wounded lack is Bryan Cristante, who has suffered a setback successful his bid to instrumentality from an ankle problem.

Claudio Ranieri whitethorn truthful opt against tinkering with a winning team, meaning that Milan loanee Alexis Saelemaekers could proceed connected the close flank, with ex-Rossonero Stephan El Shaarawy supporting Paulo Dybala up front.

No progressive subordinate has been straight progressive successful much Serie A goals against Milan than Dybala (12), but 'La Joya' has recorded conscionable 1 league onslaught astatine San Siro - backmost successful November 2014, portion with Palermo.

AC Milan imaginable starting lineup:
Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Thiaw, Hernandez; Fofana, Terracciano; Chukwueze, Reijnders, Jimenez; Morata

We say: AC Milan 1-1 Roma

Only Atalanta and Inter person had much touches successful the absorption country than Roma and Milan this season, and neither broadside is peculiarly unafraid astatine the back, truthful determination could beryllium respective chances.

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