A road to redemption for out-of-sorts Milan starts Saturday evening as they entertain Serie A’s bottom-half minnows Udinese at the Stadio San Siro. Let’s look at our match preview for this contest.
Milan thought they were on the verge of halting a two-game losing streak ‘to nil’ with another emphatic win over Napoli when Olivier Giroud’s first-half brace fired them to a 2-0 halftime lead last weekend. Little did Stefano Pioli know his men would concede twice without reply inside the opening 20 minutes of the second half en route to drawing 2-2 in southern Italy.
As the pressure continues to build on the Milan head coach, the 19-time Serie A champions come into proceedings third in the standings, three points adrift of neighbors Inter. With just one win in five matches across all competitions (D2, L2), Rossoneri would be wise not to take anything for granted. But Udinese’s dreadful form at the beginning of the 2023/24 season should work in their favor.
Following a nine-game winless start to the new Serie A campaign (D6, L3), Udinese relieved Andrea Sottil of his duties and brought back Gabriele Cioffi in a last-ditch attempt to ignite the team’s renaissance. However, the 48-year-old tactician has stuttered upon his return to the Dacia Arena, as the Friuilians barely salvaged a 1-1 draw at Monza on his second touchline debut.
While the Udinese faithful cannot blame Cioffi for sharing the spoils at the Brianteo, frustration boiled over in midweek Coppa Italia action. Cagliari claimed a well-deserved 2-1 extra-time win in Udine on Wednesday. Claudi Ranieri’s side outclassed the Friuilians, attempting a staggering 26 shots on goal, including ten on target. Udinese, meanwhile, scored from their only attempt on target.
Match Preview
Milan
Malick Thiaw’s first-half red card contributed to Juventus’ 1-0 win at the San Siro last time out, which knocked Milan down from a 12-game unbeaten league streak on home turf (W9, D3). Avenging that heartache with a win is imperative for Pioli, but Rossoneri can ill-afford to underestimate Udinese.
Despite going unbeaten in their last six Serie A encounters at home, Milan only won three times in that sequence (D3). Pioli must patch things up at the back, especially in crunch times, with Rossoneri conceding beyond the 60th minute in each of their last three competitive games. If it’s any consolation, they had won back-to-back home league matches ‘to nil’ before narrowly going down to Juventus.
Player to Watch: Christian Pulisic
Giroud ran the show in Naples last weekend, but Milan again heavily relied on Pulisic, who provided another assist. The USMNT forward has clocked up six goal contributions for his new employers this season, becoming one of the fan favorites.
Udinese
Milan’s recent form woes pale into insignificance when compared to Udinese. The visitors have established themselves as ‘stalemate specialists’ this season, drawing a mind-blowing seven of their opening ten Serie A fixtures (L3). While no team across Europe’s big-five leagues hasn’t shared the spoils as many times as the Friulians, it’s worth noting they’re one of only seven sides across those divisions yet to win.
Cioffi has picked up where his predecessor left off, with Udinese continuing to struggle to convert those stalemates into triumphs. But considering Udinese’s last Serie A win away from home dates back to a 1-0 victory at Empoli in early March (D4, L6), Cioffi would probably sign up for another draw before the kick-off.
Player to Watch: Lorenzo Lucca
Since only Empoli (3) have netted fewer Serie A goals than Udinese (6) this term, it’s hard to classify the visitors as an attacking threat. But watch out for Lucca, who has two goals and an assist to his name, having his hand in 50% of his side’s strikes thus far.
Team News
An ominously-looking injury crisis at the San Siro has yet to subside. Milan come into this round without Ismael Bennacer, Samuel Chukwueze, Mattia Caldara, Marco Pellegrino, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. There’s hope for Simon Kjaer and Pierre Kalulu to make a matchday squad, but Thiaw returns from suspension.
But the situation in the visiting camp isn’t much better, with Udinese taking this trip without Gerard Deulofeu, Brenner, Kingsley Ehizibue, Enzo Ebosse, and Thomas Kristensen. On the upside, Lazar Samardzic and Roberto Pereyra are back after missing out on the Coppa Italia clash against Cagliari.
Milan vs Udinese Potential Lineups
Milan (4-3-3): Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Fikayo Tomori, Malick Thiaw, Theo Hernandez; Yunus Musah, Rade Krunic, Tijjani Reijnders; Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud, Rafael Leao.
Udinese (3-5-1-1): Marco Silvestri; Nehuen Perez, Jaka Bijol, Christian Kabasele; Festy Ebosele, Lazar Samardzic, Walace, Sandi Lovric, Hassane Kamara; Roberto Pereyra; Lorenzo Lucca.
Milan vs Udinese Prediction
There’s no excuse Pioli could offer if Milan fail to beat a downtrodden Udinese side, so we back the hosts to return to winning ways.
Prediction: Milan Win
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