These are dark times for Milan as their hopes of securing a third straight top-four finish hang by a thread ahead of Sampdoria’s visit to the San Siro on Saturday. With only three games left to go, Stefano Pioli’s men trail fourth-placed Lazio by four points.
Last weekend’s dismal 2-0 defeat away to relegation-fighting Spezia, sandwiched by defeats in both legs of their Champions League semi-final tie against Inter, crippled the home side’s morale ahead of this clash. Milan’s bid to secure Champions League qualification next season is in tatters, but another slip-up here could effectively put it to bed.
A season that had such high promises for Milan has descended into a nightmare in less than seven days. The Rossoneri’s mental fortitude will be on the test on Saturday as they look to overcome a woeful three-game losing streak without scoring in all competitions.
While they must hold up their end of the bargain and beat Sampdoria, Pioli’s lads are no longer in control of their fate. Milan must hope Lazio could drop some points down the final stretch, but that’s the least of their problems, given their rotten spell of form.
Speaking of unwanted feats, Sampdoria have achieved plenty of them this season. A hard-fought 1-1 home draw against Empoli last time out denied Dejan Stankovic’s men a first league victory since mid-March (D3, L5). But with their first relegation from Serie A since 2010/11 already confirmed, they have nothing to lose on Saturday.
That could make them an unpleasant opponent and derail the home team’s hopes of winning a fourth consecutive H2H encounter in Serie A for the first time since 2005. Though Milan ran out 2-1 victors in the reverse fixture, they cannot take anything for granted.
Match Preview
Milan
A thoroughly underwhelming run of three successive winless games against sides starting the round in the bottom three (D2, L1) perhaps best illustrates the home team’s woeful defending Serie A campaign. Bringing all competitions into the equation, they’ve only won once in their last six matches (D2, L3), netting one goal or fewer five times.
Moreover, after racking up a three-game winning league streak in February, Pioli’s men have only won three of their last 11 top-flight outings (D5, L3). But the image looks far better at home, where Milan had gone unbeaten in nine competitive games (W5, D3) before a 1-0 defeat to Inter on Tuesday.
Player to Watch: Olivier Giroud
With Rafael Leao not 100% fit, Giroud must provide a solution to Milan’s growing scoring problems. The Frenchman comes into this round amid his personal-longest six-match scoring drought in Serie A. He’ll be under pressure on Saturday.
Sampdoria
If there’s anything left of Sampdoria’s pride following an abysmal season, Milan will be looking to crush it this weekend by exploiting the traveling side’s massive form woes on the road. Stankovic’s lads have amassed a league-low nine points from 17 Serie A travels in 2022/23 (W2, D3, L12), last winning away from home in early January.
Since beating Sassuolo 2-1 at the Mapei Stadium at the turn of the calendar year, Sampdoria have suffered seven defeats in nine away league matches (D2), drawing a blank on six occasions. Scoring is not the only problem Stankovic has failed to address. His men have conceded 36 goals outside their home ground, with only Sassuolo capitulating as many times on their travels.
Player to Watch: Manolo Gabbiadini
With six goals and two assists, Gabbiadini has been Sampdoria’s most prolific player this season. But like Giroud, he’ll take the field in the midst of a substantial scoring duck, having failed to find the net in his last eight Serie A appearances.
Team News
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ismael Bennacer are the only high-profile absentees in the Milan ranks. However, Leao, who had to sit out his team’s defeat at Spezia last weekend, will return to the fold.
As for Sampdoria, Emil Audero, Ignacio Pussetto, Andrea Conti, and Abdelhamid Sabiri are unavailable for selection due to injuries. Stankovic remains hopeful of welcoming Mehdi Leris back from a minor shoulder problem.
Milan vs Sampdoria Potential Lineups
Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Fikayo Tomori, Simon Kjaer, Theo Hernandez; Sandro Tonali, Rade Krunic; Alexis Saelemaekers, Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao; Olivier Giroud.
Sampdoria (3-4-1-2): Nicola Ravaglia; Koray Gunter, Bram Nuytinck, Bruno Amione; Alessandro Zanoli, Harry Winks, Tomas Rincon, Tommaso Augello; Filip Djuricic; Manolo Gabbiadini, Fabio Quagliarella.
Milan vs Sampdoria Prediction
In light of Sampdoria’s consistent vulnerability in conceding goals while playing away from home, Milan’s fatigued lineup still possesses the potential to find the net in the late kickoff on Saturday.
Therefore, we expect Pioli’s team to return to winning ways, even though it could be too little too late to catapult them back into the top-four race.
Prediction: Milan Win
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