Sunday’s Serie A schedule gets off the ground at the San Siro with a tasty-looking encounter between top-four bidders Milan and mid-table Monza. The homes’ up-and-down 2023/24 campaign received a significant morale boost midweek as Stefano Pioli’s side pulled off a 2-1 comeback win at Newcastle United.
Despite entering halftime 1-0 down, courtesy of Joelinton’s superb finish, Milan became only the third side to emerge victorious at St James’ Park this season. An inspiring second-half turnaround started with Christian Pulisic’s equalizer soon after the break and finished with Samuel Chukwueze’s second goal in the Champions League.
Depending on which side of the spectrum of supporting the Europa League one stands, Milan’s triumph on Tyneside could be considered a ‘Pyrrhic victory.’ With Paris Saint-Germain holding Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 draw in the other Group F showdown, Rossoneri had to settle for a third-place finish and a switch to the Europa League knockout playoff round.
However, from a psychological standpoint, it was a massive success. Milan delivered a perfect response to a frustrating 3-2 league defeat at Atalanta last weekend, setting themselves up nicely for Monza’s visit to the San Siro. Likewise, Raffaele Palladino’s men head into proceedings in high spirits.
Second-half substitute Dany Mota netted an 84th-minute winner to topple Genoa 1-0 last Sunday, ending Monza’s three-match winless run in Serie A (D2, L1). More importantly, that result kept Biancorossi within a four-point distance of fourth-placed Roma at the end of the previous round.
Match Preview
Milan
Extending a two-game winning home league streak is imperative for Milan to maintain faint Scudetto hopes after blowing hot and cold across their last five outings in Serie A (W2, D2, L1). Rossoneri’s rotten patch has allowed table-topping Inter to build a substantial nine-point lead at the table’s summit.
Stuck in a precarious spot, Milan can draw confidence from their impressive 16-game Serie A form at the San Siro (W11, D3, L2). Furthermore, they’ve been successful in all five previous home encounters against Monza (W5), consolidating their bid to return to winning ways in domestic action following a late defeat in Bergamo.
Monza
A disastrous 4-1 defeat in this fixture last season marked Monza’s first-ever goal against Milan at the San Siro. Palladino’s men lost both Serie A clashes against Rossoneri in 2022/23 after conceding inside the opening 35 minutes. That’s’ particularly problematic, given the visitors’ proclivities for slow away starts.
Monza’s habit of turning their engines late has seen them fail to score in the first 30 minutes of any away league match this season. Despite their notoriously sluggish starts on the road, they come into this round having only lost once on their last five Serie A travels (W2, D2). But their only loss in that sequence ominously arrived against Milan’s top-four rivals Roma.
Team News
A severe emergency crisis at the back is a genuine reason for concern in the Milan camp. Marco Pellegrino, Simon Kjaer, Malick Thiaw, and Pierre Kalulu remain unavailable for selection. It means Theo Hernandez will probably partner up with Fikayo Tomori at the heart of Pioli’s defense. Plus, Calabria is out after picking up a late red against Atalanta.
However, with Noah Okafor and Rafael Leao back from injuries, Pioli’s frontline looks formidable again.
On the other hand, Armando Izzo and Gianluca Caprari are on the sidelines with injuries. This trip comes too soon for the suspended Alejandro Papu Gomez. Another potential issue for Monza boss Palladino is Samuele Vignato’s lack of match fitness.
Milan vs Monza Potential Lineups
Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Alessandro Florenzi, Fikayo Tomori, Jan-Carlo Simic, Theo Hernandez; Yunus Musah, Tijjani Reijnders; Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rafael Leao; Olivier Giroud.
Monza (3-4-2-1): Michele Di Gregorio; Danilo D’Ambrosio, Pablo Mari, Luca Caldirola; Patrick Ciurria, Roberto Gagliardini, Matteo Pessina, Giorgos Kyriakopoulos; Andrea Colpani, Dani Mota; Lorenzo Colombo.
Milan vs Monza Prediction
Any potential slip-up here could cost Pioli his job despite the board’s silence amid growing pressure on the Italian manager. Milan have dominated this fixture over the years, and we back them to maintain that trend.
But Monza won’t go down without a fight. The visitors have been one of the division’s most impressive defensive sides this season. Therefore, we expect them to give Milan a run for their money.
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