AC Milan will be hoping to continue their positive trend in Serie A as they will face Hellas Verona away from home on Sunday evening. Bouncing back from the Chelsea disappointment is also key for Stefano Pioli’s men.
The Rossoneri failed to get revenge on Chelsea but on the plus side, they have everything in their own hands in the final two games. In the meantime, they will have to shift focus to the league and the clash against Verona.
Pioli didn’t have a press conference for this clash but Theo Hernandez spoke to MilanTV. He stated that they have prepared well for the game and that focus is solely on the league, and not the Champions League.
Game date: Sunday, October 16th
Kick-off time: 20:45 (CEST)
Venue: Stadio Bentegodi
Referee: Massa (VAR: Mazzoleni)
Team news
Albeit still not great, the injury situation has somewhat improved for Stefano Pioli as he can now count fully on Divock Origi and Ante Rebic at least off the bench. Junior Messias has also recovered and will be eased into the team.
Mike Maignan still has a bit to go but recent reports suggest that he will be ready for the game against Monza, just like Simon Kjaer. In short, we are at least seeing some improvement on this front as opposed to complete stalemate.
Gazzetta Dello Sport suggests that there will be no changes to the starting XI for tomorrow’s clash. Messias and Rebic have both been rumoured to start but it seems Brahim Diaz and Olivier Giroud remain the favourites.
The formation will probably be a 4-3-3 yet again but in his interview with Serie A yesterday, Pioli highlighted that the actual formation varies from what is said on paper. More important, it’s about ‘principles and concepts’, as he described it.
It’s understandable that he has opted for consistency, given that Milan played well against Juventus and also before they got the red card against Chelsea. The players involved in the latter incident probably feel they need revenge.
Probable Milan XI (4-3-3): Tatarusanu; Kalulu, Gabbia, Tomori, Hernandez; Krunic, Bennacer, Tonali; Diaz, Giroud, Leao.
The opponents
Hellas Verona have had an incredibly poor start to the season, sitting in 18th place with just five points collected thus far. It’s understandable, therefore, that they decided to part ways with their manager Gabrielle Cioffi after the loss against Salernitana.
Salvatore Bocchetti, the former Milan man, has left his job in charge of Verona’s Primavera side to take over the first team. Prior to his job with the youth side, he was also the assistant manager for the first team and thus he has experience working with this particular squad (more or less).
It won’t be an easy first game for him, though, not just because Milan are tough to beat but also because Verona have many absences. The important centre-back Ceccherini is suspended and will miss out while the likes of Coppola, Dawidowicz, Ilici, Lazovic and Lasagna are injured.
In short, Bocchetti has his work cut out for him and tomorrow will certainly be an interesting game from his point of view.
Probable Verona XI (3-4-2-1): Montipo; Hien, Gunter, Cabal; Faraoni, Tameze, Veloso, Doig; Hrustic, Verdi; Henry.
Head to head
Based on how these two sides have started the season, there’s no doubt that Milan are the favourites to win the game. Taking a look at the head-to-head record between the teams, the same picture is painted as the Rossoneri have won their last three games against Verona.
The last clash between them ended 1-3 in favour of Milan, as they came back from behind to secure an important win in the Scudetto race. Sandro Tonali was the big hero with a brace and Alessandro Florenzi put the icing on the cake with a nice strike.
Match facts…
➤ AC Milan have won five of their last seven Serie A matches against Hellas Verona (D2) including each of their last three; the last time they won four matches in a row against the Gialloblù in the Italian top-flight was between 1978-1983.
➤ The last Serie A draw between Hellas Verona and AC Milan at Bentegodi was in December 2000 (a 1-1 draw with goals from Emiliano Bonazzoli and Massimo Ambrosini); in the last eight such meetings at Veneti’s home, Hellas Verona have won three and lost five, including each of the last three.
➤ Hellas Verona have lost each of their last four league games; the last time the Veneti lost five consecutive games in Serie A was in May 2018 (seven, when they relegated under Pecchia at the end of that campaign).
➤ AC Milan are the only unbeaten team away from home in Serie A in 2022 (P13 W9 D4), and one of just three ever-present sides in both the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns to still be unbeaten on the road in the big-five European leagues during this calendar year (along with Barcelona and Manchester City).
➤ A win against Verona would mean AC Milan have won at least seven of their opening 10 games of a Serie A season in three consecutive campaigns for the first time ever (8 in 2020/21 and 9 in 2021/22).
➤ AC Milan have fired in the most shots from high turnovers (20), scored the most goals from high turnovers (four) and have had the most direct attacks (28) of any side in Serie A this season.
➤ Hellas Verona are one of only three teams – along with Cremonese and Spezia – yet to have scored a single goal by a midfielder in Serie A this season; in the 2021/22 campaign, the Veneti scored 21 goals via midfielders, the fifth-most across last term.
➤ Empoli’s Fabiano Parisi has completed the most dribbles in Serie A this season (14); among defenders in the big five European leagues in 2022/23, only Jeremie Frimpong (18) and Nuno Tavares (17) have completed more.
➤ Milan Djuric – who is yet to score in Serie A this season – found the net in his only home game against the Rossoneri in the Italian top-flight, at Arechi for Salernitana vs AC Milan in February 2022 (a 2-2 draw). The Bosnian forward has not started a single match for Hellas Verona in the current Serie A campaign.
➤ AC Milan’s Junior Messias has been directly involved in at least one goal in each of his three Serie A appearances against Hellas Verona, scoring a goal with Crotone in both such meetings in the 2020/21 campaign and assisting at Bentegodi last May.
➤ AC Milan’s Sandro Tonali scored his only Serie A brace against Hellas Verona at Bentegodi in May 2022; those strikes are also his last two goals in the competition (six goals in total).
Ones to watch
Brahim Diaz is one player that should be monitored a bit extra tomorrow. He did really well against Juventus and unfortunately didn’t get the chance against Chelsea due to the red card. He will be eager to show himself tomorrow, therefore.
Matteo Gabbia is another one to keep an eye on, following two very solid performances against two high-level opponents. He’s shown great signs of growth and Mian will be hoping that he can continue like this, with consistency.
As for Verona, it cannot be disregarded that many of their stars will miss the game. The captain Davide Faraoni is one you always have to be careful with, though, as he likes to get forward a lot (he scored last time Milan faced Verona).
In addition to him, Thomas Henry is a powerhouse up front and it will be crucial not to give him any opportunities on the head. He’s tall and certainly knows how to find the back of the net when given the chance.
Prediction
Given how Verona have started the season, and Milan’s positive trend in the league, it’s hard to see any other outcome than a Rossoneri win. The injuries certainly haven’t made things easier for Bocchetti, who will struggle in his first clash.
Verona 0-2 AC Milan
