Sunday’s Serie A action gets underway at the San Siro as title-bidding Milan take on high-flying Sassuolo. Both teams head into this meeting in a buoyant mood after overcoming early deficits to win ...
Sunday’s Serie A action gets underway at the San Siro as title-bidding Milan take on high-flying Sassuolo. Both teams head into this meeting in a buoyant mood after overcoming early deficits to win their league matches last weekend.
Despite trailing Torino by two goals before the 20-minute mark, Milan pulled off a stunning comeback to win 3-2 in Turin on Monday night. Level on points with defending champions Napoli at the top of the table, Massimiliano Allegri’s charges remain firmly in contention for a landmark 20th Scudetto.
In addition to being relieved of European duties, Milan bowed out of the Coppa Italia, meaning the Rossoneri can fully focus on bringing the league title back to the San Siro for the first time since 2022. However, this season’s Scudetto race promises to go down to the wire, with only a point separating the top three teams.
Though newly promoted Sassuolo harbor different ambitions, they enter this round as one of the division’s most in-form sides. The Neroverdi fought back to beat out-of-sorts Fiorentina 3-1 at home, maintaining a rich vein of form. Indeed, Fabio Grosso’s men sit only six points adrift of sixth-placed Como at the start of this round.
That’s quite an achievement for last season’s Serie B winners. Yet, their European aspirations face a formidable challenge this weekend, as they seek their first league victory against a current top-six side.
Match Preview
Milan
Newcomers Cremonese stunned the San Siro into silence on the opening weekend, beating Milan 2-1 on their home ground. However, Allegri’s men have since gone 13 consecutive league matches without losing (W9, D4), including back-to-back home wins over Roma and Lazio.
Both triumphs yielded an identical 1-0 scoreline, highlighting the potential for another close contest. That’s been a common theme for Milan this season, with each of their five home wins in Serie A coming by a single-goal margin. Nonetheless, the Rossoneri have not lost any of their six league games at the San Siro since Matchday 1 (W5, D1).
While this appears to be a routine task for Milan, at least on paper, the hosts would be naive to underestimate Sassuolo. Indeed, they’ve failed to beat the Neroverdi in four of their last five home league encounters on this ground (D1, L3). Furthermore, after a 2-2 draw against Pisa, the 19-time Italian champions are at risk of starting the season with three consecutive winless matches against newly promoted clubs for the first time since 2014/15.
Sassuolo
Sassuolo’s narrow 1-0 defeat on their last Serie A visit to the San Siro puts them at risk of losing successive league meetings with Milan for only the second time in club history. That’s a realistic prospect, considering they’ve lost all four top-flight clashes against current top-six teams, including a 2-0 defeat at Como on their last league road trip.
However, Grosso’s side had emerged victorious from three of their four previous away league games (D1), keeping three clean sheets in the process. That said, they’ve only registered one shutout across their last seven Serie A fixtures, suggesting Christian Pulisic and company could have a field day.
Yet, it’s worth noting that Sassuolo have gone from strength to strength when taking the lead this season, winning all six league outings after drawing first blood. Meanwhile, they’ve rescued four points from losing positions (W1, D1, L6).
Team News
Milan lost standout forward Rafael Leao to a muscle injury on Monday, meaning Christopher Nkunku is likely to start alongside Pulisic. Indeed, Santiago Gimenez has fallen out of favor amid a rough patch. Elsewhere, Youssouf Fofana and Zachary Athekame remain on the sidelines.
As for Sassuolo, Grosso has to deal with a growing list of absentees. In addition to the club’s long-serving stalwart, Domenico Berardi, Aster Vranckx, Daniel Boloca, Filippo Romagna, Edoardo Pieragnolo, Stefano Turati, Laurs Skjellerup, and Yeferson Paz are unavailable.
Milan vs Sassuolo Potential Starting Lineups
Milan (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Loftus-Cheek, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Nkunku.
Sassuolo (4-3-3): Muric; Walukiewicz, Izdes, Muharemovic, Doig; Thorstvedt, Matic, Kone; Volpato, Pinamonti, Lauriente.
Milan vs Sassuolo Prediction
Despite Sassuolo’s outstanding run at the San Siro and equally impressive return to Serie A, this is Milan’s game to lose. Allegri’s men have struggled against smaller clubs this term, but we expect the Rossoneri to defy that trend tomorrow.
Category: General Sports
