Following four consecutive wins in all competitions, AC Milan will look to maintain their stranglehold on second place in the Serie A rankings by defeating Hellas Verona on Sunday.
Milan will visit at Stadio Bentegodi having qualified for the Europa League quarter-finals, while Hellas has climbed out of the relegation zone with two consecutive victories.
Milan secured only their second win in eight European away games on Thursday evening, defeating Slavia Prague 3-1 at Eden Arena to complete an overwhelming 7-3 aggregate victory.
After their hosts were reduced to ten men, the Rossoneri surged ahead with goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic, and Rafael Leao, and Friday’s draw set them against Italian rivals Roma in the Europa League quarter-finals.
Milan must resume domestic duties as soon as possible following the impending international break.
Stefano Pioli’s side went over Juventus in the standings to second place behind distant leaders Inter Milan after defeating Empoli last weekend, with Pulisic scoring the only goal at San Siro.
The Scudetto is undoubtedly out of reach, with Inter behind by 16 points, but finishing second would be an admirable campaign after last season’s setbacks.
Since December, only Milan’s city rivals have gained more points and scored more goals, and an improved road record has helped Pioli’s men overcome out-of-form Juve.
The Rossoneri have won four of their previous five Serie A away games, scoring an average of 2.4 goals in the process; having also collected maximum points on their last four visits to Stadio Bentegodi, they will expect to win again on Sunday.
Verona last avoided losing at home to Milan in 2017, and the Gialloblu have lost six league games in a row against their Lombardy opponents, including a 1-0 defeat in this season’s reverse meeting.
Hellas, like Milan, has won their last two top-flight games without conceding a goal and is now looking for a three-game winning streak for the first time in more than ten years.
Michael Folorunsho’s first-half goal was enough to beat Lecce in last week’s relegation six-pointer, which was made famous by a headbutting incident involving Lecce manager Roberto D’Aversa after the game.
That extraordinary moment of craziness came after Thomas Henry’s late ejection at Stadio Via del Mare, but despite the controversy, Verona’s triumph propelled them above their opponents in the table and two points clear of the drop zone.
Before a promising start to March, Marco Baroni’s side had won only once in 2024, so the Gialloblu’s head coach will be hoping for a turnaround before facing one of the season’s biggest tests.
Both Rafael Leao and Alessandro Florenzi return from one-game domestic bans this weekend, but Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan may miss out due to a knee injury that took him out in midweek; Marco Sportiello would fill in if necessary.
Tommaso Pobega remains out, but fellow midfielders Ismael Bennacer and Tijjani Reijnders, who were on the bench against Slavia Prague, could return to the Rossoneri’s starting lineup.
Christian Pulisic, who assists Olivier Giroud up front, has increased his league goal count to eight this season and is one goal shy of tying Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie for the most American goals scored in Serie A.
If not rested, Rafael Leao will play in the final third, having been directly involved in six goals in his last five games versus Verona.
Meanwhile, midfielder Michael Folorunsho has contributed to three of the Gialloblu’s past four goals and is ready to team up with Dutch attacker Tijjani Noslin once more.
Pawel Dawidowicz may return to the hosts’ back four after serving a suspension, while French forward Thomas Henry has been banned following his red card in Lecce.
Hellas Verona’s likely starting lineup: Montipo; Tchatchoua, Magnani, Dawidowicz, Cabal; Duda, Serdar; Suslov, Folorunsho, Lazovic; Noslin.
AC Milan’s likely starting lineup is Sportiello, Florenzi, Tomori, Thiaw, Hernandez; Bennacer, Reijnders; Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; and Girou.
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